Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Protomelas spilonotus

Protomelas spilonotus "Mbenji Island"

Mbenji Island — m-BEHN-jee EYE-land (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 spilonotus account →

Specific to Mbenji Island

  • 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 spilonotus.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size9.8 in25 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Depth0–16 ft0–5 m
DietSifts biocover / combs aufwuchs
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder~20–80 eggs (genus-typical; not documented for this species)
Sexual dimorphismYesDominant males develop a blue head with yellow underside/flanks and sometimes a yellow nape crest; females and subordinate males stay plain silvery-grey with dark dorsal blotches.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mbenji Island population

Protomelas spilonotus "Mbenji Island" is the Mbenji Island population of Protomelas spilonotus, a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the south-central part of the lake. It is the same species as Protomelas spilonotus, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Mbenji Island fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Protomelas spilonotus is a midwater haplochromine cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, found hovering a meter or so off steep, sediment-free rocky shores where it picks invertebrates and fallen insects out of the open water just below the surface. It is the type species of a small group of look-alikes, and one of the more confused names in the hobby: the popular trade fishes sold as "spilonotus Tanzania," "spilonotus Mozambique" and "spilonotus Likoma" are separate, still-undescribed species, not this fish. True Protomelas spilonotus is widespread around the lake, listed as Least Concern, and known to collectors under the misleading old name "Haplochromis ovatus."

Full Protomelas spilonotus account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Protomelas spilonotus "Mbenji Island"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Protomelas spilonotus (Trewavas, 1935)
  3. FishBase: Protomelas spilonotus
  4. Chavula et al. 2023, Lake Malawi/Niassa/Nyasa basin: Status, challenges, and research needs, J. Great Lakes Res. 49(6):102241
  5. Ribbink et al. 1983, A preliminary survey of the cichlid fishes of rocky habitats in Lake Malawi
  6. Marine Species Traits / WoRMS: Protomelas spilonotus (Trewavas, 1935)