Taxonomy & naming
Protomelas sp. "Steveni Black Belly" is an undescribed Lake Malawi haplochromine, known only by this trade name. It has no valid scientific name, no describing author, and no publication date, and none should be attached to it. It belongs to what hobbyists and the malawi.si database call the "Steveni" complex — a cluster of geographically distinct, similarly built Protomelas forms, none of which has been formally described, generally regarded as allied to the described species Protomelas taeniolatus. Other members of the same informal complex circulate under names such as "Steveni Imperial," "Steveni Tanzania," and "Steveni Kaduna," each tied to a different collection area and breeding-male colour combination.
The origin of "Steveni" itself is not documented with certainty in the sources consulted here; it most plausibly honours a person's given name (Steven/Stephen), in keeping with the practice of naming Malawi trade forms for collectors, exporters, or early hobbyists, but no confirmed identification can be offered. The second element, "Black Belly," is transparently descriptive: it refers to a dark patch on the belly of breeding males, the feature that distinguishes this particular population from its "Steveni" relatives.
Protomelas was erected by Trewavas in 1935. Because no formal revision of the "Steveni" complex exists, the relationships between its various trade forms — including whether they represent one variable species or several distinct ones — remain unresolved.
Morphology
No published measurements specific to this form were found in the sources consulted here. Genus context: Protomelas in the taeniolatus/"Steveni" group are moderately deep-bodied, laterally compressed haplochromines, larger than the mbuna, with breeding males of related forms commonly reaching the mid-to-high teens of centimetres — offered here as a genus-typical estimate rather than a confirmed measurement for this population.
The one specifically documented trait is the namesake dark patch across the belly of breeding males, which develops over the blue body and red-toned dorsal and fin colouration broadly typical of the "Steveni" complex's spectacular breeding dress. The precise extent and shade of the black-belly patch, and the fine detail of this population's blue and red tones, have not been documented beyond that general description. Females are expected to be plain silvery-brown, as in the rest of the complex and the wider genus, without the black-belly marking.
Habitat
Three of the four documented localities for this form — Bandawe Point, Kande Island, and Mdoka — lie along Malawi's west-central shore, while Nkhata Bay lacks a confirmed position in the records available here. Bandawe Point and Kande Island sit close together in the central-west lake, while Mdoka lies considerably further north, suggesting the form (or forms very like it) may range across a broader stretch of the western shore than the tight clustering seen in some mbuna trade forms.
The "Steveni" complex is generally associated with sand and the intermediate zone bordering rock rather than pure rock habitat. Lake Malawi's water chemistry in this zone runs broadly 24-28 degC and pH 7.7-8.6, hard and alkaline, with habitat for mid-sized haplochromines of this kind typically found from a few metres to about 82 ft depth. No site-specific depth record exists for this particular form.
Feeding
Feeding has not been documented specifically for this form. The Protomelas taeniolatus/"Steveni" complex is generally understood as a generalist forager over sand and rock margins, picking aufwuchs and small benthic invertebrates rather than specialising narrowly, consistent with the wider genus. Without a dedicated study of this population, that genus-typical generalist description is the most that can be responsibly offered.
Unlike the specialised, comb-toothed dentition of mbuna, Protomelas in this group carries more generalised jaw teeth suited to picking varied food items rather than scraping a fixed algal turf, consistent with its wider-ranging, less territorial feeding habits over sand and rock margins.
Mating
Social behaviour has not been documented specifically for this form. As in the rest of Protomelas and Lake Malawi's haplochromines generally, breeding males are expected to hold and defend display territories, typically over sand or the rock/sand margin, using their vivid breeding colours — including the black-belly patch that names this form — to attract passing females in a lek-like arrangement. Females are not territorial and visit displaying males when ready to spawn.
Courtship in this style of haplochromine typically involves the male performing a quivering lateral display and leading an approaching female toward his spawning site, a pattern shared broadly across the lake's mouthbrooding cichlids regardless of habitat. Because territories away from strict rock habitat are often less permanent than a mbuna's defended cave, a displaying male may relocate his site if local conditions change — a detail not documented specifically for this population but consistent with the wider ecology of lek-breeding, sand-associated haplochromines.
Breeding
As with every Lake Malawi haplochromine, this form is presumed to be a maternal mouthbrooder. A female takes eggs into her mouth at the male's territory, is drawn to fertilise them by mouthing the egg-spot markings on his anal fin, and broods the clutch orally for roughly three to four weeks before releasing free-swimming fry, with no further parental involvement afterward. No clutch size has been documented for this specific form; genus-typical broods for mid-sized Protomelas are expected to run to several dozen eggs.
The egg-spot mechanism behind this process is one of the more distinctive features of Lake Malawi cichlid biology: the yellow-orange markings on the male's anal fin closely mimic the fish's own eggs in size and colour, and the female's instinct to gather stray eggs into her mouth is what draws her toward the male's vent, where she takes in sperm instead. This indirect fertilisation method, shared across virtually the entire haplochromine radiation of the lake, lets fertilisation happen without either fish releasing gametes into open water where they would be exposed and vulnerable.
In the aquarium
The "Steveni" complex is well established in the Malawi cichlid hobby for its dramatic male breeding colours, though this particular black-belly form is less commonly seen than better-known "Steveni" trade names and is more likely to be found through specialist importers than general retail. No form-specific husbandry literature exists, so the guidance here follows general practice for the complex.
A tank of at least 59 in suits the genus's larger adult size, aquascaped with open sand and scattered rock rather than dense wall-to-wall mbuna-style rockwork. Water must replicate Lake Malawi's chemistry: hard and alkaline, pH roughly 7.8-8.6, temperature 24-28 degC. Diet should include a quality cichlid pellet as a staple, supplemented with frozen or live invertebrates such as chironomid larvae, brine shrimp, and daphnia.
A single male with several females is the standard low-conflict arrangement for a lek-breeding haplochromine of this kind. Males colour up most reliably with a rival present to display against, whether a conspecific or another similarly built haplochromine, but should not be housed with other "Steveni" trade forms or Protomelas taeniolatus itself, since hybridisation between these closely allied, undescribed forms is a real risk and destroys their value as distinct trade fish.
Conservation
Protomelas sp. "Steveni Black Belly" has never been formally described and carries no IUCN Red List assessment of any kind; evaluation requires a valid scientific name, and this applies equally to every other member of the informal "Steveni" complex. Its documented range along Malawi's west-central shore shares the general pressures facing Lake Malawi's inshore habitat: sedimentation from catchment disturbance, warming surface waters, and the cumulative effects of the region's fisheries, compounded for showy trade fish like this one by sustained ornamental collection pressure. Formal description would be the prerequisite for any future Red List evaluation; until then its status is properly recorded as unassessed.