# Red Top Lwanda's and Super Red Empresses Coloring Early



## durby (Mar 4, 2012)

i ordered these fish from a vendor (which i realize i can't name here, but will posting a review shortly) and have had them set up for about 5 weeks. i bought 6 unsexed red top lwandas and 6 unsexed super red empresses. having researched these both, i was expecting to have to wait a long time for them to start coloring up.

however, i was delighted to discover them already starting to color this week! i have 3 of each starting to color. they are in various stages, obvious, and some are coloring very quickly! i am very excited about this! the red tops are 2-2.5 inches and the lwandas are 2 inches or less!

i'm not sure how normal this early coloring is, but i spend a lot of time (and $, lol) making sure they are in an ideal environment. so, my question is, what are your thoughts about reasoning? is it a really good strain of fish (they are the fry of F1 showfish) or am i just stellar at babying my fish and water upkeep, lol. anyone else had these color so early?

this is my first time with these breeds (my other and much older tank is mbuna) so i'd like to know what, if anything, i'm doing right by these guys or if it's really all in the quality of what you buy.

Red top lwanda's transitioning color[/img]


















Super Reds Fins


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

I have seen F1 Aulonocara sp "Lwanda" colour up at about 2". No experience with super red empresses just the normal wild type Protomelas taeniolatus (Namalenje Is.) which takes ages to colour for me. The Super Red is line bred to colour early I guess.


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## durby (Mar 4, 2012)

my lwanda are only f2, but i guess it's not as irregular as i thought. hmmm. still not what i was expecting so a nice surprise for me. the super reds are bred to have more red on the body. the super reds at the lfs i buy my supplies from are 3.5 inches at least and still have no color. it seems unlikely all 15 of those were female, but who knows. possible i guess.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

My mistake seems the Super Red colour up late (just like the wild type?)

As to the question can you tell its a good strain from how early it colours up?
My guess would be no. Some colour up early some late both good and bad lines and more dependant on the size the wild type(s) they were bred from colours up.
You kind of have to waite untill you see them as adults before knowing for sure.
Second best is seeing the fish they are bred from.
Third best if buying from a good dealer.
These do not always have direct contol over the fish they buy in.
The short cut for some is to hormone treat them and that makes them colour up earlier.
But as with all short cuts it comes at a price. That is it may damage the fish.
I guess this is why you often see stuff coloured up in LFSs at a size far smaller than it would occure without hormone treatment/feeding.
Lets hope they are "good" strains. I can see nothing wrong with them, about as good as it can be with juveniles.

All the best James


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## durby (Mar 4, 2012)

ah, makes sense. i can wait until the get older. i'm not trying to breed them or resell them or anything of that nature. i'm more just curious as to what i've got. i intentionally ordered from a breeder/retailer who seemed to have a great reputation instead of an lfs or someone unknown, because i didn't want any hormone jacked up fish or fish not properly cared for.

i was certainly originally prepared to wait much longer to see color, and was just surprised to see them already developing. i was hoping they just liked me, lol. in all seriousness, i was hoping they were responding favorably to their environment. this is my first time with these 2 breeds, so i'm using trial and error regarding making them happiest. i'd recently switched out the lights and adjusted the filter to create a slightly stronger current for them to play in (i seem to have a group of 4 that are very playful). i guess it's just the girly nurturer in me trying to read too much into nothing, lol. thanks!!!


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## des (Mar 30, 2011)

I'm excited for you. The lwanda is my favorite peacock and the red empress is my favorite hap. You made a great choice. :thumb: They look healthy and at 2 inch appear to be on pace for what I would expect.

Keep us updated on their development.


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## durby (Mar 4, 2012)

They change so much DAILY! I think I'll post weekly pics. I know how 5 of the 6 lwandas coloring up. Which I'm obviously concerned about. If my gray loner is truly a female, I'm gonna have to pull her out or get lots more ladies. Which I have room for... or I could even pull all my yellow labs out and put them in my other tank. Not a huge deal. I just don't want her to be alone. So now I'm hoping I got all male lwandas. My male red emps have all gotten their fins entirely red and one is even getting some blue on his face already. It's seriously crazy how quickly this happens.

I already have favorites, too, lol. My most colorful lwanda is named Cinna and he nibbles my fingers when I feed them. He's the only one who eats the floating pellets instead of the ones sinking to the bottom.

My favorite red emp is named Haymitch and he's the biggest. He likes to swim in circles around a coral decoration I have in the tank.

opcorn:


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