Red Empress African Cichlid
The red empress or spindle hap has a body shape that is similar to the peacock cichlids only deeper and the forehead is a little higher.
Red empress african cichlid. Fish in captivity however usually stay on the smaller end of the size spectrum. The red empress cichlid protomelas taeniolatus is also known as the spindle hap or the red empress. For the other feedings they should be fed special foods.
The red empress cichlids are quite popular because of the male s rainbow like colors. The protomelas taeniolatus super red empress cichlid is a herbivore and should be fed foods that are high in vegetable matter. A 55 gallon with lots of rock cover would be a very good setup to start with.
In the wild it s far more common for these fish to reach the upper limits of that range. The red empress also has a forked tail whereas the peacocks do not. It can grow around 5 6 inches 13 15 cm in length and will sometimes get larger in the aquarium.
For a majority of the feedings they should be fed a staple food consisting of either flakes or pellets. Additives like cichlid lake salt and malawi victoria buffer will condition the aquarium water for african cichlids. Red empress cichlids are omnivores so their diet regimen should consist of meats and vegetables.
This cichlid gets to around 4 5 inches maybe slightly large as adults. They should be fed twice per day for a total of 14 feedings per week.