Original reference as:
- Konings, Ad. 1995. "Malawi cichlids in their natural habitat (2nd edition)". Cichlid Press. 352. ISBN: 978-0966825534 (crc01582)
Conservation: Protomelas sp. 'spilonotus mozambique' is not evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species. Protomelas sp. 'spilonotus mozambique' has rarely been collected for the ornamental fish trade because the population density is very low and, since they feed in the water column, are not easy to catch. Because they live in close proximity of rocks they are protected from fishermen with nets but as they prefer to feed on items fallen into the water they may be vulnerable to hook-and-line fishermen. At present it looks like that Protomelas sp. 'spilonotus mozambique' is not threatened by overfishing.