Goliad, Texas 77963
Fax 361.645.2258
Email goliadfish@goliadfarms.com
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Goliad Farms, INC. | 8497 FM 622 Goliad, Texas 77963 |
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361.645.2252 Fax 361.645.2258 Email goliadfish@goliadfarms.com |
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Contents
Fish
Cichlids |
Protomelas taeniolatus 'Red Empress' 
Protomelas taeniolatus, the Red Empress, is
a cichlid from Lake Malawi in eastern Africa. (Click here for
a general discussion of cichlids.) It is also known by the following names: Haplochromis
similis, Haplochromis Sunset and Protomelas similis. The top photo is a mature male; in fact, he is the father of the fish in the
bottom photo. sexually mature male about 12.5cm (5 inches) in length.
The second photo is a young sexually mature male who is just beginning to color
up. He still shows some female pattern characteristics, the dark vertical bars.
The bottom photo is a mature female. We acquired this
strain from a commercial source in 2003.
Size: Males often reach 15cm (6 in.). Females are considerably smaller. Description: Males are colorful with blue faces and gill plates, yellow-gold bodies spangled with blue squiggles and marked with several vertical faint black bars and a mid-lateral dark stripe and red and blue spangled unpaired fins. Females are silvery fish with faint black vertical bars and a black mid-lateral stripe. Juveniles show the adult female coloration.Environment: This fish tolerates pHs from 6.5 to 8.0 while preferring pHs at near the higher end (basic) of this range. Water hardness is not critical, but it prefers very hard water. Optimum temperature ranges from 20-30°C (68-85°F).  Geographic Range:
This fish hails from Lake
Malawi in eastern Africa.
Temperament: This fish is not aggressive for a cichlid, but males can be quarrelsome among themselves. They are active fish, constantly interacting with other fish. It can be kept either in a large single species aquarium or in active community aquaria with fish with similar behavior and requirements. Feeding: Feeding is simple with the fish taking prepared foods as well as live and frozen foods. Periodic feedings of Daphnia or other live foods are helpful in color maintenance, general health and breeding.Spawning: This cichlid breeds like other members of its genus. It is a maternal mouth brooder. At 30°C (85°F), females carry eggs and fry for about 21 days. Broods are smaller than those of most cichlids can be as large as 50 fry for mature females. The fry are large and can eat commercial food, Daphnia, brine shrimp nauplii, etc. immediately. The adults are not significant fry eaters, so the fry can be reared with the adults. The fry will, however, usually grow faster if removed from the adults. We maintain breeding colonies of this fish consisting of one male and six to twenty females.
Additional Photos: For additional photos of this species, click on one of the following photo locations:
Page last modified June 30, 2007. Copyright © 2007, Goliad Farms, Inc. |
Additional Information:
For more information about this species, click on one of the following article
names: