Taxonomy & naming
Tropheops sp. "Gome Yellow" is undescribed and has no holotype, authority, publication year, or entry of its own in Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes. Tropheops was erected by Trewavas in 1984 for the lake’s blunt-headed, thick-lipped algae-scraping mbuna; within the genus, field workers have documented a dense mosaic of locality colour forms along the southern and border shoreline, many recognised only informally. "Gome Yellow" combines the locality name — Gome, one of a cluster of closely spaced sites straddling the Malawi–Mozambique border that also includes Chiofu, Liwani and Chiloelo — with a colour descriptor for the male pattern, following the standard convention for naming Tropheops trade forms. It should be treated as an informally recognised population pending any formal review.
Morphology
This form shows the standard Tropheops build: a short, steeply sloped head, thick fleshy lips, and a moderately deep, laterally compressed body, genus-typical size running roughly 3–4.5 in with males somewhat larger. The trade name indicates breeding males show yellow colouration, likely across the body, fins, or both, distinguishing this population from neighbouring Tropheops forms along the same stretch of border shoreline that carry different colour names. The precise extent and pattern of the yellow has not been documented in any published account, and no formal measurements exist for this population; females are expected to be plainer and less contrastingly marked, as in other Tropheops.
Habitat
Recorded from Border, Chiloelo, Chiofu, Gome and Liwani, this form occupies a tightly clustered run of rocky shoreline straddling the Malawi–Mozambique border in the southern lake — a stretch that has produced several distinct, narrowly distributed Tropheops trade forms in close proximity, consistent with the strong locality-based diversification typical of rock-dwelling mbuna. Habitat is the genus-typical shallow-to-moderate rock face, roughly 7–49 ft, in Lake Malawi’s warm, alkaline, well-buffered water (75–82 °F, pH 7.7–8.6).
Feeding
Tropheops sp. "Gome Yellow" is an algae grazer in the manner typical of its genus, using thick lips and fine, closely set teeth to browse algal turf from rock surfaces at close range. As with other Tropheops, the practical diet includes the diatoms and small invertebrates living within the algal mat as well as the algae itself. No dedicated feeding study exists for this specific population; the description follows the well-documented ecology of the genus.
Mating
The mating system follows the standard mbuna pattern: polygynous and lek-like, with no pair bond. Males hold and defend a feeding-and-breeding territory on rock, often centred on a small cave or crevice, displaying their yellow breeding colour to attract passing females. Courtship follows the typical haplochromine sequence of quivering and circling before spawning takes place within or near the male’s territory. No specific behavioural documentation exists for this named population.
Breeding
This form is a maternal mouthbrooder, as is every member of Tropheops. Following spawning, the female takes the fertilised eggs into her mouth and broods them for roughly three to four weeks, feeding little during this period, before releasing free-swimming fry with no further parental care. Clutch size has not been documented for this specific population; Tropheops of comparable size typically produce clutches of 15–30 eggs.
In the aquarium
Tropheops sp. "Gome Yellow" should be kept as a standard rock-dwelling mbuna, with extensive, stable rockwork in a tank of at least 47 in to give territorial males room to hold separate patches; sand or fine gravel suits the substrate.
Water chemistry should replicate Lake Malawi: temperature 75–82 °F, pH 7.7–8.6, and consistently alkaline, well-buffered conditions. Diet should be predominantly vegetable-based, with a spirulina-forward flake or pellet as the staple and high-fat, high-protein foods minimised to reduce the risk of Malawi bloat. Keep a surplus of females per male and house it with similarly robust mbuna tankmates. Because several visually similar, narrowly distributed Tropheops trade forms come from this same border-area cluster of localities, keepers should preserve accurate provenance rather than assume forms from nearby sites are interchangeable.
Conservation
No IUCN Red List assessment exists for Tropheops sp. "Gome Yellow", and none can while it remains formally undescribed. No status, category or year should be attached to it. Because it is recorded from a narrow, tightly clustered stretch of shoreline straddling an international border, its range may be genuinely restricted, which would make it more vulnerable to localised habitat disturbance or intensive collection than a wider-ranging form — but no data confirm the true extent of its distribution or any pressure on it. The accurate statement is that it is unevaluated.