Taxonomy & naming
Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" is not a separate, formally described species. It is the Maleri Islands geographic population of Aulonocara stuartgranti Meyer & Riehl, 1985 — a described peacock — circulated in the hobby as a named locality form. As a locality form it has no scientific name, describing author, year, or catalogue entry of its own; those particulars belong to the parent species Aulonocara stuartgranti, not to this informal designation. The placeholder name follows the standard convention for such forms — the genus Aulonocara, the abbreviation "sp." (species), and a name in quotation marks combining the parent species and the locality: "Stuartgranti Maleri," the stuartgranti of the Maleri Islands. Ad Konings and the broader Malawi literature recognise the lake's stuartgranti complex as a series of vividly coloured geographic populations, of which the Maleri Islands fish — the original "sunshine peacock" — is among the best known. It carries the genus's diagnostic enlarged cephalic sensory pores. The honest framing is that this is a geographic variant of a described species, and no separate authority, date, or FishBase number should be attached to the locality form itself.
Morphology
This is a medium-sized peacock on the standard Aulonocara plan: a moderately deep, laterally compressed haplochromine body carrying the genus's characteristic head, in which the lateral-line canals of the face are widened into conspicuous sensory pits. Field and hobby references place mature males at roughly 4.5–5 in and females somewhat smaller, the usual peacock arrangement in which males run a little larger. Sexual dichromatism is strong and is the whole basis of the form's fame. Dominant, sexually active males of the Maleri sunshine peacock combine a bright yellow body with an iridescent blue head and face and blue-marked fins — the warm-and-cool contrast that gives the "sunshine" trade name its meaning — and they hold this nuptial dress year-round. Females and subordinate, non-territorial males are far plainer, smaller, silvery-brown and cryptically marked. The Maleri population's particular balance of yellow and blue distinguishes it by eye from other stuartgranti localities such as Ngara or Usisya, though all share the same body plan.
Habitat
Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" occurs around the Maleri Islands in the southern part of Lake Malawi, including the waters around Nakantenga Island. Its biotope is the classic Aulonocara intermediate habitat — scattered rocks standing on an open sandy floor, the transitional zone the peacocks favour, rather than continuous rock or pure sand. The water is the warm, hard, strongly alkaline medium typical of Lake Malawi's upper and middle water column: temperatures broadly in the mid-20s Celsius, pH on the alkaline side of neutral, and moderately hard to hard general hardness. Like the rest of the stuartgranti complex it forages over the open sand between and around the scattered rocks, generally in the moderate depths of the upper sandy zone. As a locality population it is geographically restricted to the Maleri area, one of the several discrete homes of the lake's sunshine-peacock variants.
Feeding
Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" is a sand-sifting micro-invertivore, feeding in the manner that defines the peacock radiation. It hovers just above the open sand and holds still, the enlarged sensory pores on its head — part of the ampullary lateral-line system — registering the faint vibrations of small invertebrates moving within the substrate. When prey is detected the fish darts down, takes a mouthful of sand, sifts out the edible items, and expels the spent grains through the gills and mouth. The diet is the genus-typical menu of small benthic invertebrates: insect larvae, micro-crustaceans, and other soft-bodied animals living in the sediment. This sensory, bottom-oriented hunting mode ties the fish to clean, invertebrate-rich sand and is shared across the entire stuartgranti complex to which the Maleri population belongs.
Mating
Like all Lake Malawi peacocks, Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" is polygynous and lek-like in its social organisation, with no pair bond. Males in nuptial colour establish and defend small territories on or near the sandy floor, each centred on an excavated pit or a sheltered spot among scattered rocks, and display their bright yellow-and-blue colour from these sites to passing females. Females are not territorial; they move across the substrate singly or in loose groups and visit the displaying males. A ripe female approaches a colour-holding male at his site, and courtship follows the conventional haplochromine pattern of lateral display and quivering that leads the female to spawn. Because males hold their colour year-round, the lek is effectively always active. The behaviour matches that documented for the stuartgranti complex generally, of which the Maleri sunshine peacock is a well-studied member.
Breeding
Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" is a maternal mouthbrooder, as are all Lake Malawi peacocks. After a male's courtship draws a willing female to his spawning site, she deposits a small batch of eggs and immediately takes them into her mouth; she is then drawn to the egg-spot markings on the male's anal fin and, in attempting to gather these false "eggs," takes in milt that fertilises the clutch already held in her buccal cavity. The female broods the eggs and larvae in her mouth for roughly three to four weeks, ceasing to feed for most of that period, before releasing free-swimming fry; there is no biparental care and no further parental investment once the young are released. Clutches are modest, on the order of a few dozen eggs in this size of peacock. The sunshine peacock breeds readily in captivity and is one of the most widely propagated peacocks in the hobby.
In the aquarium
Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" — the sunshine peacock — is one of the most popular peacocks in the hobby, valued for the vivid yellow-and-blue colour of its males. A keeper who wants the genuine Maleri locality form should source from a reputable specialist, because the sunshine peacock has been line-bred and crossed with other yellow and blue peacocks for generations, producing colour-enhanced strains of muddled origin.
The tank should provide a fine sand substrate — at least 2 in deep — over a generous open footprint, since this is a sand-sifting fish that needs room to hover and forage; coarse gravel inhibits the sifting behaviour and can damage the gills. A footprint of at least 47 in is a sensible minimum, with a background of stacked rock providing broken sightlines and a few bolt-holes while leaving most of the floor open. Water chemistry should mirror Lake Malawi's water column: temperature in the mid-20s Celsius, pH on the alkaline side of neutral (roughly 7.7 to 8.6), and moderately hard to hard general hardness. Prolonged exposure to soft or acidic water causes chronic problems in Malawi cichlids and should be avoided.
Because males are permanently in nuptial colour and perpetually willing to spawn, a single male with several females is the standard, lowest-stress arrangement; a lone male in a bare tank will harass unreceptive females relentlessly. The sunshine peacock is a frequent choice for the popular "all-male" peacock tank, which can work but raises hybridisation risk if females are later added. Diet should be the usual varied peacock menu — a quality cichlid pellet or flake as a staple, supplemented with small frozen or live invertebrates such as chironomid larvae, brine shrimp, and daphnia. Fatty foods should be avoided, as they predispose Malawi cichlids to bloat, and regular partial water changes keep nitrate low. To preserve the Maleri line, keep it apart from other stuartgranti localities and yellow peacocks when breeding.
Conservation
Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" has no Red List assessment of its own, because it is a geographic population of a described species rather than a separately evaluated taxon; any conservation status pertains to the parent species Aulonocara stuartgranti, not to the locality form, and none should be invented for the Maleri population specifically. That said, as a geographically restricted population it is exposed to the same general pressures as other Lake Malawi cichlids: ornamental collection — historically intense for the brightly coloured sunshine peacocks — together with inshore habitat disturbance and the broader stresses of sedimentation and fishing across the basin. No fabricated conservation status should ever be attached to it. The honest statement is that, as an informally recognised locality form, it is unassessed in its own right, and the relevant status is that of the parent species.