This fish belongs to a group called Mbuna cichlids. The male of this species is also very similar in appearance to its close relative the  Maingano Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos and these two Mbuna species can easily be confused. The Maingano is sometimes called the Electric Blue as well, which adds to the confusion, but it is a separate and distinct species. The male of the M. johannii and both sexes of the Maingano have dark blue to black horizontal bands that runs across the back, but on the M. johannii they are often broken up with spots of light blue. Both these cichild species have also been bred in captivity and there are many captive strains