The top of its head is convex, or sometimes concave in large specimen due to the continued growth of the mouth region.

Its olive-green dorsal fin possesses a red rim and white to grey spots on the soft streamed section.

The species has a high temperature tolerance (8 – 41 °C) and also withstands brackish water with a salt content of up to 1.9%.

The young fish live on plankton; adults, like all members of the genus Coptodon, are primarily herbivores and eat algae and taller plants, as well as insects and smaller crustaceans.

The species was described in 1897 by Belgian-British ichthyologist George Albert Boulenger as Chromis rendalli, and later classified as a member of the genus Tilapia, subgenus Coptodon.