Super Red Empress Care Guide - Aquarium Setup, Diet & Breeding

Super Red Empress is the aquarium trade name for a vivid selectively bred form of Protomelas taeniolatus, often known as the Red Empress. Mature males develop intense red, orange and blue colouration, with the exact pattern varying between strains and individuals. Females are generally much more subdued, usually showing silvery-brown or grey tones with faint darker markings.

These cichlids have the deep-bodied shape and extended dorsal and anal fins typical of many Lake Malawi haplochromines. Their colour develops most strongly as males mature and establish themselves, making adult specimens especially striking in a well-planned Malawi aquarium.

In the wild, Protomelas taeniolatus is associated with sandy areas, rocky margins and zones where algae-covered surfaces meet open lakebed. It is an active fish that searches across the substrate and rockwork for food rather than remaining hidden all day.

The species is generally less boisterous than many mbuna, although males can become territorial, particularly when displaying or spawning. Super Red Empress are maternal mouthbrooders, and their breeding behaviour is an important part of their natural history and aquarium appeal.

The Super Red Empress is a selectively bred colour form of Protomelas taeniolatus, a cichlid native to Lake Malawi in East Africa. Wild members of the species occur around shallow, rocky and sandy habitats in the lake.

A group or harem should have at least 200 litres, with a larger aquarium of around 250 litres or more preferable for a community of Malawi cichlids. A tank measuring approximately 120 cm long by 45 cm deep provides useful swimming space and helps limit territorial disputes. Use a fine sand substrate, along with rounded rocks arranged into caves, territories and visual barriers, while leaving open areas for swimming. Robust plants are optional because they are not part of the species’ essential habitat and may be uprooted.

Males can reach about 18 cm (7.1 inches), while females are usually smaller at around 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 inches).

Offer a varied omnivorous diet built around a quality Malawi cichlid or spirulina-based pellet, supplemented with spirulina flakes, vegetable matter and occasional meaty foods such as brine shrimp or mysis. Small portions fed regularly are preferable to heavy meals. Avoid relying on rich mammalian meat or excessive high-protein foods, which can contribute to digestive problems and are poorly suited to their natural feeding ecology.

Super Red Empress can be kept with other peaceful to moderately assertive Lake Malawi haps and peacocks of a similar adult size, provided the aquarium is spacious and has plenty of visual breaks. Suitable companions may include Aulonocara species and relatively calm Protomelas or Copadichromis species. Avoid mixing them with highly aggressive mbuna, very small community fish, fin-nippers or closely related red-coloured Protomelas, as competition, hybridisation and aggression can become problems. Keeping only one male, with several females, usually reduces conflict.

Super Red Empress are maternal mouthbrooders and are best bred in a species-focused harem of one mature male with several females. The male displays over a spawning site, where the female lays eggs and immediately picks them up, then fertilises them by collecting the male’s sperm from the spawning area. She carries the eggs and developing fry in her mouth for around three weeks, usually eating little during this period. Fry can be offered finely crushed flake, baby brine shrimp and other small foods once released, while providing rockwork or other cover helps them avoid being eaten.

Males are considerably more colourful, developing red, orange and blue markings as they mature, and may also show stronger egg spots on the anal fin. Females remain smaller and are generally silver, grey or brownish with much less intense patterning.