Protomelas sp. "Steveni Imperial" "Cobwe"
Cobwe — KOH-bweh (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. "Steveni Imperial" account →Specific to Cobwe
- 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. "Steveni Imperial".
The Cobwe population
Protomelas sp. "Steveni Imperial" "Cobwe" is the Cobwe population of Protomelas sp. "Steveni Imperial", a geographic colour form from Lake Malawi in Lake Malawi part of the lake. It is the same species as Protomelas sp. "Steveni Imperial", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.
Colour reference: living Cobwe fish at malawi.si →
About the species
Protomelas sp. "Steveni Imperial" is an undescribed Lake Malawi haplochromine, one of the largest and most sought-after trade forms in its genus. It is recognised across an unusually wide stretch of the lake — recorded from dozens of localities spanning Malawi's western and eastern shores, the islands of Likoma and Chizumulu, and the Mozambican and Tanzanian coasts — and is known to hobbyists chiefly for the combination of a big body and a dramatic breeding dress: electric blue overlaid with a broad orange cape across the back. It has never been given a formal scientific name, so no authority, publication year, FishBase number, or IUCN assessment should be attached to it.
Full Protomelas sp. "Steveni Imperial" account →