Pomadasys kaakan has a blunt head which has a convex upper profile and a small mouth which has brushlike bands of teeth on its jaws.

The juveniles are bright silvery green dorsally, golden silver on the flanks and silvery white on the underparts, there are no fewer than 12 indistinct vertical bars which are made up of small dark brown spots or irregular blotches.

The dorsal fin has blackish-brown spots on the basal part of its spiny portion and there are three rows of spots on the soft-rayed part which has a dark margin while the lower tip of the caudal fin is milky.

[4] Pomadasys kaakan is found in turbid waters near the coast where the substrate consists of sand or mud to depths of 75 metres (246 ft).

[2] Their diet is largely crustaceans, and they are known to feed on fishes, molluscs, brittle stars, Lingula sp.