Taxonomy & naming
Maylandia sp. "Hajomaylandi Pombo" has no describing author, no year of publication, and no FishBase entry. Its trade name pairs "Hajomaylandi" — a reference to the formally described Maylandia hajomaylandi (Meyer & Schartl, 1984) — with "Pombo", one of its own recorded localities, Pombo Rocks. This is notable because M. hajomaylandi itself is documented as restricted to Chizumulu Island, an isolated outcrop in the open northeastern lake, so a hajomaylandi-resembling population on the Tanzanian coast at Ndumbi Point and Pombo Rocks represents a separate, geographically distant population rather than the same species found in a new locality. It should not be treated as conspecific with M. hajomaylandi absent a formal taxonomic study confirming the relationship.
Morphology
Maylandia hajomaylandi, the species this form is named for, shows breeding males in steel-blue with dark vertical bars and an orange wash over the head and belly, while females and juveniles are plain yellow-brown with faint barring. Whether "Hajomaylandi Pombo" reproduces this exact pattern has not been confirmed by any published account; it is presented here as resembling M. hajomaylandi in the trade, without asserting an identical colour scheme for this geographically separate population. No measurements specific to this form have been published; genus-typical Maylandia size is assumed pending direct documentation.
Habitat
This form is recorded from Ndumbi Point and Pombo Rocks, both on the Tanzanian shore of Lake Malawi. This is a substantial distance from Chizumulu Island, where the formally described M. hajomaylandi is restricted, underscoring that this is very likely an independent, convergent or related population rather than the same species. Like other Maylandia, it is expected to occupy rocky reef habitat along the boulder-strewn Tanzanian coast. Water conditions follow Lake Malawi's typical rocky-habitat envelope: warm, hard, and strongly alkaline, at the moderate depths characteristic of rocky mbuna reefs.
Feeding
Maylandia is, genus-wide, an aufwuchs grazer, rasping algae and associated micro-organisms from rock surfaces with specialised bicuspid teeth, supplementing this with plankton picked from the water column. M. hajomaylandi itself is documented as both an aufwuchs grazer and plankton picker. No feeding study specific to "Hajomaylandi Pombo" has been published, but this dietary pattern is close to universal across the genus and its resembled relative, and is a reasonable expectation for this form as well.
Mating
Male mbuna of the Maylandia zebra complex are territorial rock-holders, defending a patch of reef against rivals and displaying to passing females with no lasting pair bond. No courtship account specific to this form has been published, so its behaviour is presented here as genus-typical rather than independently documented.
Breeding
As with every Lake Malawi cichlid, Maylandia sp. "Hajomaylandi Pombo" is presumed to be a maternal mouthbrooder. M. hajomaylandi itself broods for roughly 18 to 21 days with clutches in the range of about 15 to 30 eggs; whether this population matches those figures has not been confirmed, but they are offered here as a reasonable expectation given the resemblance implied by the trade name. There is no biparental care; the male's role ends at spawning.
In the aquarium
Maylandia sp. "Hajomaylandi Pombo" is a specialist, locality-based form rather than a mainstream trade fish, and hobbyist documentation specific to it is limited. Keepers should follow standard Maylandia husbandry: a large rockwork structure with plenty of caves and broken sightlines, fine sand substrate, and hard, alkaline water in the range of roughly 75–82 °F and pH 7.7–8.6. Diet should lean heavily plant-based — spirulina flake, algae wafers, and blanched vegetables — with meaty foods limited to occasional supplements, since chronic high-protein feeding predisposes mbuna to bloat. Because this form's trade name references M. hajomaylandi but comes from a geographically distant locality, keepers who intend to breed true should keep it separate from actual Chizumulu Island M. hajomaylandi stock to avoid confusing the two lines.
Conservation
Maylandia sp. "Hajomaylandi Pombo" has no IUCN Red List assessment, since formal evaluation requires a validly published scientific name and none exists for this form. Its resembled relative, Maylandia hajomaylandi, is assessed as Least Concern, but that status describes a different, geographically restricted population and cannot be extended to this separate Tanzanian-coast form. As a rock-restricted population apparently confined to a stretch of the Tanzanian shore, it shares the general pressures documented across Lake Malawi's rocky-habitat mbuna — localised habitat disturbance, sedimentation, and ornamental collecting — but no population-specific data exist to characterise its status beyond that general context.