Taxonomy & naming
Maylandia sp. "Estherae Blueface" carries no describing author, no type specimen, and no entry in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes. The trade name invokes the described species Maylandia estherae, named by Ad Konings in 1995 from Minos Reef on the Mozambique shore and honouring Esther Grant, whose family's collecting operation reopened that stretch of coast to the ornamental trade. M. estherae is well known for a lake-wide polymorphism in which populations differ sharply in male and female colour from reef to reef, including orange-blotched morphs, which is why hobbyists routinely qualify the name with a locality or colour trait rather than treating it as a single uniform-looking species. "Blueface" and "Lumessi" together mark this specific population's colour trait and collection point; whether it should ultimately be classified as M. estherae or as a separate, closely related taxon has not been settled, and this account does not assert either outcome.
Morphology
This population shares the compact, laterally compressed zebra-mbuna body plan typical of Maylandia. Its distinguishing feature, per the trade name, is a blue cast on the head and face of males that sets it apart from other estherae-type populations along the same coast, many of which show a more uniform blue or orange body colour without a contrasting facial tone. A full published description of its colouration, fin shape or size does not exist, and this account does not go beyond the documented trait implied by the name. Sexual dichromatism is expected to follow the wider estherae pattern, in which male and female colouring can differ markedly between populations.
Habitat
This form is documented from Lumessi on the Mozambique shore of Lake Malawi, within the general coastal stretch where Maylandia estherae and its many locality-specific colour populations occur. As with other rock-dwelling Maylandia, it is expected to be confined to rocky and rock-sand transition habitat rather than open sand or deep water, in the alkaline, well-buffered water typical of the entire lake.
Feeding
No feeding study specific to this population has been published. Like other Maylandia it is presumed to graze aufwuchs, the algae and diatom film coating sunlit rock, scraping it loose with the fine, densely packed teeth characteristic of the genus and taking small invertebrates from within that film opportunistically.
Mating
Mating behaviour has not been documented for this population specifically. Estherae-type Maylandia generally follow the standard lek-like mbuna system: males hold and defend small rock territories without pair bonding, displaying to and courting ripe females that enter the territory, with strong colour-based assortative mating documented across the lake's mbuna radiation generally.
Breeding
Reproduction follows the standard Maylandia pattern of maternal mouthbrooding: the female takes the fertilised eggs into her mouth after spawning and broods them alone, typically for three to four weeks, before releasing free-swimming fry with no further parental involvement from either parent. Clutch size for this population specifically has not been documented.
In the aquarium
This population is not established under this name in the general aquarium trade, and no dedicated husbandry record exists for it specifically. Were it kept, care would follow standard estherae-type Maylandia husbandry: a long tank with dense rockwork offering multiple broken sightlines and cave territories, alkaline, well-buffered water in the mid-20s Celsius, and a vegetable-forward, spirulina-based diet. Because colour identity matters for breeding true, it should not be housed with other estherae-type or similarly patterned Maylandia if maintaining pure stock is a goal.
Conservation
Maylandia sp. "Estherae Blueface" has not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List, and as an undescribed or informally distinguished population it is not currently eligible for a dedicated assessment. Maylandia estherae itself, the species this population is associated with, is broadly distributed and has not raised particular conservation concern, but that status cannot be extended automatically to every locality-specific colour population without a targeted survey, which does not exist for Lumessi specifically.