ID Hap
- Thread starter tlindsey
- Start date
Again, can never be too sure...but looks like a juvie red empress. Like others have said, if it's male...when it colors up, will be a much easier time to tell.
It's not a great picture because mine never wants to stop moving, bur the fish in the middle is a red empress. He has colored. Again, horrible pic...but bright blue face....orangish body. Has the same black striping as yours.
It's not a great picture because mine never wants to stop moving, bur the fish in the middle is a red empress. He has colored. Again, horrible pic...but bright blue face....orangish body. Has the same black striping as yours.
Also, IF it's a red empress and IF it's male. They are beautiful fish, but a pain in the a**. We have had 2. Could of sworn both were female.
The first male had a really small blue dot by each of his gills. LFS told me, it's male. He is waiting to size up to change color. Sure enough, he got the same size as the dominant fish in the tank and colored up. He was about 4 inches though!
The little guy in the picture is maybe 2.5 inches. Thought was a female. We bought him a little while after the original red empress had been in the tank. The thing wouldn't grow. This time no color hint whatsoever. My dominant fish kills my bigger red empress. This little punk colors up within the same day that his other competition was killed off. Eating like a pig the next morning.
So, they do color, but it can be very painfully slow and they do actually time it on purpose. Depending what else you have in the tank, if it is a red empress, it's potentially waiting for something.
If it's female, it'll stay the same color it is now.
Mine is going to have to get very aggressive as he gets older if he's going to survive my tank. Fingers crossed bc they are beautifully colored!
The first male had a really small blue dot by each of his gills. LFS told me, it's male. He is waiting to size up to change color. Sure enough, he got the same size as the dominant fish in the tank and colored up. He was about 4 inches though!
The little guy in the picture is maybe 2.5 inches. Thought was a female. We bought him a little while after the original red empress had been in the tank. The thing wouldn't grow. This time no color hint whatsoever. My dominant fish kills my bigger red empress. This little punk colors up within the same day that his other competition was killed off. Eating like a pig the next morning.
So, they do color, but it can be very painfully slow and they do actually time it on purpose. Depending what else you have in the tank, if it is a red empress, it's potentially waiting for something.
If it's female, it'll stay the same color it is now.
Mine is going to have to get very aggressive as he gets older if he's going to survive my tank. Fingers crossed bc they are beautifully colored!
