[bartho14]

I currently have 2 male Empress' in a large 140 Gal setup w other Haps and Cichlids. Ones 6-6.5" and the others just maturing to around 4". At the moment they seem indifferent to one another. And surprisingly both are colored quite nicely and there is no females in the setup.

If I were to throw a wrench into the situation, by adding an additional 1-2 males and 5-6 females, what would happen?

Any chance of multiple pairs breeding?
Would one male claim dominance and essentially turn the other males to sub dom status/colour?
Would there be endless fighting?

Bad idea in general?

Thanks

 

[mokujin22]

They *may* be able to get along, but only one will end up breeding. Red Empress are some of the more aggressive Protomelas and adults will pick on each other even without females around. With females present, I would think that the alpha male will pwn the submales. Even if the alpha let the subdominant male survive, I don't think he will color up.