Original reference as:
- Lepel, Thomas. 1994. "A treasure from Lake Nyasa". The Cichlids Yearbooks. 4:34-35 (crc00879)
Conservation: Protomelas sp. 'spilonotus tanzania' is not evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species. In the past Protomelas sp. 'spilonotus tanzania' has been often collected for the ornamental fish trade but a good population has been established among breeders and further import from the wild seems unnecessary. In their natural habitat there seems to be little danger from overfishing as the species is only vulnerable to hook-and-line fishermen and there aren't many along the Tanzanian shore.