# 1st timer / severums



## klc9100 (Apr 14, 2009)

hey guys. this is my 1st post in this forum. i have 4 african cichlid tanks, but i'm setting up my 1st s/a tank this weekend. it's going to be an all male gold severum tank. i've done my research and have my water parameters figured out. i'm curious what you guys feed your sevs to get the brilliant colors. i've seen alot of really nice looking fish online and alot of washed-out, drab looking ones. i know genetics play a part in this, but i also know diet does too. what types of foods do yall recommend???

thanks :fish:


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## Matt1986 (May 15, 2009)

Welcome to the forums!

Firstly, the the all-male approach to Malawi Haps/Peacocks does not really extend to SA cichlids. What size is your tank and how many Sevs do you plan on keeping?

If you are looking to enhance the colour of gold Sevs I'd feed a combination of frozen foods and carotene-rich flakes/pellets.

Matt


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Severums like greens, so plants such as red leaf lettuce will be welcome. They love duckweed. They would probably enjoy pieces of orange squash also.


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## klc9100 (Apr 14, 2009)

Matt1986 said:


> Welcome to the forums!
> 
> Firstly, the the all-male approach to Malawi Haps/Peacocks does not really extend to SA cichlids. What size is your tank and how many Sevs do you plan on keeping?
> 
> ...


thank you. i just like the looks of the males, and I don't really want to have to deal with the females, spawning, ect. i have an african or two or three holding every time i turn around, so i don't need anymore babies. i don't have enough tanks as it is. lol :?

this latest tank that i'm setting up for the severum is 60g. a guy in the aquarium club i'm in has some he doesn't want. he will give me three 4" males for nothing. i figured once they were full grown, that's about all that would fit in there comportably.

what kind of frozen foods do you feed yours. all this is new to me. i feed my africans a combination/variety of 3 or 4 different spiralina/brine/vegetable flakes. i know nothing about frozed foods.


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

4 severums will not fit in a 60 gallon tank. 1 in a 60 would be the max imo.
if you put 4 males, it would be bad news. they would probably thin things out on their own.

if you decide to follow through, please keep an eye on them and have a back up plan.


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## Matt1986 (May 15, 2009)

As Hondo said, 4 male Sevs in a 60 isn't ideal, however if your tank has a 4ft footprint I think you could get away with 2-3 males providing you do have a backup plan incase. In my experience Severums tend to have a pretty docile temperment, but as with all cichlids this varies from individual to individual.

As far as feeding goes: frozen foods can include bloodworms and various shrimp etc you will find at your LFS (protein rich food is not problematic for SA's as it is for Africans) but perhaps just use these to break the routine of a staple flake/pellet - preferably with carotene to promote reds/yellows.

That said, the best thing you can do to get them colouring up nicely is to stay on top of water maintenance and keep them happy!

Keep us posted,

Matt


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

Severums are indeed laid back when it comes to *other* species, but as with all New World cichlids, another male of the same species is never welcome. More than one male rarely works in a 4ft tank.

Interestingly, two females and a male is working pretty well in a 75g. These guys are all pretty big. I'm surprised.

-Ryan


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

> He will give me *three* 4" males for nothing. i figured once they were full grown, that's about all that would fit in there comportably.


G'day *klc9100*,

What is the footprint of your 60 gallon tank? What species of Severum will you be recieving?

I share the sentiments of the other posters here. I do not think a 60 gallon tank will be suitable for three adult severums. I think many hobbyists who start out with African cichlids struggle with the idea of less is more, when they switch to keeping SA or CA cichlids. Two factors to take into account are intraspecific aggression and available territory. Many SA and CA cichlids show more aggression towards others of thier own species, which often means there will be more aggression between three severums, than say a severum kept with a Blue acara and a festivum. A single or dominant adult severum may very well consider a 60 gallon tank to be it's territory and be intolerant of other severums or even other cichlids (if it's a nasty sev) sharing it's territory.


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## leopio (Nov 18, 2007)

was reading the thread and i have to ask this question for my self. so you guys say a 4ft. tank is enough space for pair? i have a 4ft. tank but it not a 60 gal. ita a 46 gal. (48*14*16) will that still hold a pair of Rotkeil?


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## klc9100 (Apr 14, 2009)

thanks for all the replies guys. yes, it is a 4ft. tank. the guy that is giving them to me has 10 of them in a 120g. based on that, i figured 3 would surely be OK in a 60g. i guess we will see. i can't back out on him now. i was also told that the male agression was lessened alot by not having females present. is that not true?


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## AU Chief (Jun 20, 2007)

Am I completely wrong in my thinking that it is relatively hard to sex sevs? I would think it would be hard to guarantee all 3 are males, and if you two start spawning the one left out would be in for some trouble. Fish per gallons doens't usually transfer like that. Just because he has 10 in a 120g doesn't mean 3 should work in a 60g.

That being said, it is a 4ft tank so that will make it much more likely to work.

As *Matt1986* said, the Malawi approach of putting in all males to keep down aggression flat out doesn't work with CA/SA's. In fact the opposite is usually recomended, all females. And where Malawi males are usually the most colorful, CA/SA females are most often the most colorful fish(but not always).


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