Protomelas sp. "Johnstoni Solo" "Makonde"
Makonde — mah-KOHN-deh (approx.)
The fish
How this cichlid is built, and everything about how it lives, eats and breeds, is shared with the species — this page doesn't repeat it.
Read the full Protomelas sp. "Johnstoni Solo" account →Specific to Makonde
- Collection locality & coordinates
- Local coloration — best judged from the living-fish photo
- Kept as a single-provenance line, never crossed with other collection points
Care facts below are the species' — shared with Protomelas sp. "Johnstoni Solo".
The Makonde population
Protomelas sp. "Johnstoni Solo" "Makonde" is the Makonde population of Protomelas sp. "Johnstoni Solo", a geographic colour form from the Tanzania coast of Lake Malawi in the far northern part of the lake. It is the same species as Protomelas sp. "Johnstoni Solo", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.
Colour reference: living Makonde fish at malawi.si →
About the species
Protomelas sp. "Johnstoni Solo" is an undescribed haplochromine from the Tanzanian shore of northern Lake Malawi, recorded across four sites spanning nearly 81 mi of coastline. Its trade name links it to Protomelas johnstoni, a formally described species named for the British colonial administrator and naturalist Sir Harry Johnston, suggesting this form is regarded as closely allied to or resembling that species. It has never itself been formally studied, and its specific colouration and biology beyond genus-typical expectations are not documented in the sources available here.
Full Protomelas sp. "Johnstoni Solo" account →