Discovery: The species was discovered by African Diving Ltd on April 30, 2008. Currently, it is only known to exist around Mwila Island (part of the Kipili archipelago) at a depth of about 15 meters.
Size: Adults grow to between 5 and 7 cm. Males may be slightly larger, but otherwise, there is no visible difference between males and females.
Habitat and Aquarium: In nature, they live in areas with numerous empty snail shells (primarily Neothauma). In an aquarium (recommended size at least 150 L), they require a sandy bottom and plenty of snail shells.
Diet: Carnivorous.
Breeding: They spawn inside snail shells. They have an unusually small number of fry—only 4 to 8 young have been observed per brood in the wild, which is significantly fewer than related species.
Comparison: It is very similar to the species N. sp. 'Eseki', but N. sp. 'mwila' has:
Larger eyes.
No yellow ring around the eyes.
A smaller body size (Eseki grows up to 11 cm).
A deeper habitat and different environment (shell beds versus sandy areas with scattered rocks).