Taxonomy & naming
Maylandia sp. "Lime Jalo" is undescribed: it carries no published diagnosis, holotype, authority or year, and none should be invented. "Lime" is used in the Malawi cichlid trade as a colour descriptor for a yellow-green male body tone, applied independently to unrelated Maylandia populations at different reefs around the lake; a separate population simply called Maylandia sp. "Lime" is documented farther north at Maingano Island, Mbamba Islands and Membe Point, and the shared name does not imply that the two are the same taxon. "Jalo" marks this population's own locality, Jalo Reef, a site in the central-southern part of the lake also associated with other mbuna trade forms. Pending formal review, this population should be treated as its own locality record rather than folded into any other "Lime"-named form.
Morphology
Maylandia sp. "Lime Jalo" shares the compact, laterally compressed zebra-mbuna body plan and comb-like bicuspid dentition typical of the genus. Its distinguishing feature, per the trade name, is a lime, yellow-green male body colour, distinct from the more common blue base colour of many Malawian Maylandia. Females are expected to be the duller, more barred or brownish sex typical of the genus. No published morphometric description or detailed colour account exists for this specific population, and this account does not go beyond the trait implied by the trade name.
Habitat
This form is documented from Jalo Reef on the Malawian shore of Lake Malawi. 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. Maylandia generally follow the standard lek-like mbuna system: males hold and defend small rock or cave 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 form is not established under this exact name in the general aquarium trade, and no dedicated husbandry record exists for it. Were it kept, care would follow standard 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 it can resemble other lime- or yellow-toned Maylandia, it should not be housed with similarly patterned populations if maintaining pure breeding stock matters.
Conservation
Maylandia sp. "Lime Jalo" has not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List, and as an undescribed form it is not currently eligible for formal assessment. Its documented range is a single reef, and no dedicated survey of collecting pressure or habitat condition there has been published, so its status is best described as unevaluated and effectively unknown.