# Red Empress?



## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

according to... http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/p_taeniolatus.php 
...there is the American strain and has more blue colour than the Super Red Empress....is this one?

As far as I can tell from venting it's a male and he's about 4". Any idea what they would cost at this size for a female?


----------



## frank1rizzo (Mar 14, 2005)

Doesn't look like a Empress to me, but I could be wrong.

Nice fish whatever it is.


----------



## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

looks like an Empress to me. Look in the profile at the pics of the "young male" and "sub adult male"

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1369


----------



## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

I'm thinking at 4" it's still a young male and the red hasn't started yet.


----------



## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

_Protomelas taeniolatus_ does have several regional variants, its possible your is not from the Red line. The Blue Fire one is quite attractive too.


----------



## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

yeah, guess it goes back to my original question of "...there is the American strain and has more blue colour.... is this one?"


----------



## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Since he is still young it could be a while before he shows full adult colors. Without him being sold as a specific variant, really all you can do is say he is a _Protomelas taeniolatus_ and leave off the classifiers.


----------



## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

Yeah, will have to wait and see. I got it as a Red Empress, so will have to just wait it out.


----------



## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Regaurdless of what he ends up looking like, it will be impossible to say for sure which varian (or even a mix of variants) he really is.


----------



## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

no worries...just like to narrow it down


----------



## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

lovely fish. I'll take him!


----------



## Curious_Lithobates (Sep 18, 2009)

Looks like an empress to me.


----------

