Its dorsal surface and flanks are olive green with indistinct dark vertical bars and its belly is silvery-white.

[2] The western galaxias is a fast-swimming schooling fish and often forms shoals just above the substrate in the shallows.

It is often found in and around submerged vegetation in rocky pools at the base of rapids and waterfalls.

At the beginning of the wet season it moves upstream to small streams where it spawns among vegetation in flooded areas.

The western galaxias is carnivorous and mainly feeds on small insects and crustaceans.