Red Empress Cichlid Juvenile
We are asked occasionally how we can sex fish at juvenile size.
Red empress cichlid juvenile. Haplochromis red empress red empress or spindle hap is a haplochromine cichlid endemic to lake malawi in eastern africa the fish is popular in the aquarium hobby due to the bright rainbow like colors of adult males and its relatively peaceful temperament. The average red empress cichlid size is between 4 5 and 6 inches in length which is reasonably large. Red empress protomelas taeniolatus haplochromide african cichlid.
Fish in captivity however usually stay on the smaller end of the size spectrum. Protomelas taeniolatus often sold under various trade names. This cichlid gets to around 4 5 inches maybe slightly large as adults.
Head is showing blue not evident in picture also more redish in fins then what s shown in the pic. Red empress cichlids typically reach sexual maturity at 8 to 9 months. Juvenile red empress.
A 55 gallon with lots of rock cover would be a very good setup to start with. The real trick is to make sure you have 20 30 of the same fish in the tank. Albino eureka red peacock aulonocara.
Taeniolatus like many haplochromines do not display. 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. The red empress cichlids are quite popular because of the male s rainbow like colors.
Their tail fins can develop beautiful red and blue spotted coloring. Juvenile and female p. Hoping for a male.
Dorsal fins as well can develop red. African cichlid fry grow out. It can grow around 5 6 inches 13 15 cm in length and will sometimes get larger in the aquarium.
The red empress cichlid protomelas taeniolatus is also known as the spindle hap or the red empress. 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.
Lake malawi adult size.
