Super Red is an understatement!!! Beautiful!

thank you Cindy, But i need to make sure you understand that the Super Red Empress and Red Empress are 2 different fish, not based on color quality

It is still P. Taeniolatus just a sub-species line bred from the original red emp. It is just based on color intensity .

Pretty colors. Ok anyone out there explain to me the difference between a Red empress and a super red empress if not color. I mean the name implies a color difference. ANd its not hard to confuse me, LOL

Super Red Empress has been line bred to get more red showing in the body.The Red Empress is naturally occurring unlike the Super red empress.. will post one of my regular Empress for you to see the Difference.

Again Wayne Wife says quit posting her fish...

Michelle, the Super Red was line bred using the best colored males over and over again until the color morph was almost 2x's that of a standard Red Empress, thus giving it the name Super Red Empress. The major difference being that the more common species labeled Red Empress are often mis named as empress but being called it anyways. Too often you will see red empress being labeled that are not empress at all, but buyer beware, most don't know.Of the taenilotus Family, there is one single location dubbed Empress, and to find that in the hobby, only about 1/3 of Empress breeders actually have the real empress, most others are the firecrackers or red chins, so if you ever want a real empress, there are places to find them, just keep the photo in mind of the differences between the super red, and red in mind when going for them, BTW the Super Red is over 50x's more sought after than the Red based on unaware breeders breeding the males back into standard females making them common empress, sometimes they will throw a couple nice ones, but most will be standard looking red empress...hope this helps

Lee so they just took two of the most red colorful red empress and bred them and bred them until they got a group with great colors? Is that right? But I'm confused because CS said above that they are two different fish not based on colr. I have I think just a plain red empress. He's just starting to get a blue face. Can't wait to see colors.

they are, the Super Red isn't a pure strain, the Red is, two different fish. What I meant by not based on color is simple, I didn't call it a Super Red Empress because its a super red colored empress, it's actually a Super Red Empress

Well I guess I will just hve to wait till my little guy grows up more to see what he turns out being. It'll be like Christmas! Thanks.

Well I guess I will just hve to wait till my little guy grows up more to see what he turns out being. It'll be like Christmas! Thanks.

lol @ Christmas....glad I could help

After eading all this - if i understand correctly - the Super Red Empress is a true Empress which has been bred to produce superior color. Whereas the Red Empress is not necessarily a true Empress strain. Or I'm completely missing the point!

yeah clear as mud...LOL

Cindy you almost have it
The super red part is correct, the Red Empress part is almost correct, there is a true Red Empress, but most of the breeders who have and sell them, well more than half don't actually have red empress, did that help or did I just add icing to the confusion cake we seem to be baking here..lol

CS I am one of those breeders that developed the super red emp from a pure strain over 25 years ago through line breding . It is just a deeper color of red . Same bloodline & I have kept both going for years. If you intensify the color of a fish it doesn't change the genus or the species it just makes it more intense. The only variant on these is location in the lake & hybridization. I think you just want to sell your fish that you bought from a breeder. Good luck selling your fish. BTW you can tell the breeder he has some nice fish.

Vince I would be part of that breeding and culling process,however there was nothing stated about being a different genus. Only and quite simply that the Super red is a line bred, more intense variation, and that most breeders sell many forms of Taenilotus as red empress and they are not, or are cross bred with empress females. and Vince, I have been keeping cichlids a bit longer than you think also. The Super red was created and mass produced out of germany in 1983, and has been in the hobby since, where it has been repeatedly bred over and over again, most of the time with the improper females causing losses in color. But glad to know another who has been around a while.

You read a lot of articles. How old are you?

I read alot more than articles, I also know more about pretensive habits and creations that alot of folks know about. BTW, I have been keeping and breeding cichlids for just over 16 years, and all but 2 of them were African Cichlids. So Why the personal putdown's Vince?

Vince, you anywhere around the NW IL area? I'd be glad to have you come down and go through my book work and see some of the things I have documented over the years, alot of things have been done before, and some have yet to be in print, but its all fascinating data

hell Vince he is closing in on the 44 years ain't he

in fact I am, all too quickly, time seems to pass faster and faster as we grow older, seems like just a year or so ago I turned 21, then 25 and etc etc, goes by so fast

No put down you just happened to be doing more confusion by trying to quote articles than sharing experience. Where do you get all these facts & figures since you "would be part of that breeding & culling process ". How old are you ?

in reference to"the breeding and culling process" was in regards to this line of super red empress shown above that you mention about "the breeder" has some nice fish, your talking to 1 half of that team, we work together. I am not quoting articles, I learned over years and years of experience. and I am 29 not 28. And no confusion shared. I would like to have you come down however, I am sure you would be fascinated by my record keeping over the past decade and a half

Yes I'm sure , I've been breeding Red Emps since 1980 & a uncountable # of species since 1964, with the help of my dad . My father kept & bred fish since 1950. If you have all these fish how do you find time to argue with anyone that doesn't see it the way you imagine it. Good luck selling your fish .