It has a gill raker count of 9–10 on the lower arm of first gill arch and there are 5 horizontal scale rows between the lateral line and the mid-dorsal scale row at the origin of the dorsal-fin.

It prefers clear water where it occurs in the midwater to bottom depths.

This species possibly moves into flooded forest habitats immediately adjacent to rivers, but it avoids substrates consisting of fine-grained sediments, preferring rocky substrates instead.

[2] Hypsibarbus lagleri migrates up the Mekong River in January–February, then moves back downstream into the lower basin where the Sesan, Srepok, and Sekong enter the Mekong in June–July.

[1] Hypsibarbus lagleri is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN and is threatened by overfishing as it is subjected to both commercial and subsistence fisheries, it is also threatened by dams which are planned for the Mekong, Sesan, Srepok, and Sekong.