# Green Severum Problem??



## Dudditz (Jul 12, 2009)

Hi guys,

Basically I am looking for a little advice.

I recently purchased a pair of Green Severums for my tank. At first they we fine, swimming about together and both were very active in the tank from the start.

As far as I can tell they are an M & F pairing, which my friend who is quite into his fish agreed with.

Over the past couple of days though the male seems to have become quite aggressive towards the female and it has now got to the point where she cannot come out of her hiding place without him racing across the tank to chase her back.

As far I was aware Severums are quite a peaceful fish so I am wondering if this is a major problem that might end up in me having to get rid of them or splitting them up?

The tank they are in is a 55 Gallon (UK) but there is plenty of space in there for them so I can't see it being that.

Also the male is not showing any aggression towards any of his tank mates .

Any ideas or suggestions on what can be done?

Thanks.

Edit - Bit of an after thought, would rearranging the plants and other dÃ©cor possibly calm the problem?


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

are 100% sure it isn't 2 males? when it comes to the difference between pairing and fighting it can be hard to tell.

can you post a picture of each severum? males have worm like makings on the face females do not.


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## jgentry (Jul 3, 2008)

Well, let me start off by saying that a 55g would be the bare minimum for a pair of severums and is probably a little too small. Severums are big fish as adults. Depending upon your tankmates you might already be a little overstocked.

As far as severums go they are fairly peaceful for cichlids. But all cichlids tend to be more aggressive to there own kind. I would think it would be very normal for the male to be beating up on the female in a tank that size. Even the most compatable cichlid pairs need enough space for the female to get away from the male. Generally the male wants to breed and the female is not ready so he beats the **** out of her. I think if you put the same 2 fish in a 125g you would see much better results. The best thing to do at this point would probably be putting an eggcrate divider in if the male does not let up some. Unfortunately a 55g just doesn't give a pair much space and breeding cichlids are aggressive to each other as much as they are to the tankmates. Sometimes even much more aggressive to each other.


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## Dudditz (Jul 12, 2009)

jgentry said:


> Well, let me start off by saying that a 55g would be the bare minimum for a pair of severums and is probably a little too small. Severums are big fish as adults. Depending upon your tankmates you might already be a little overstocked.
> 
> As far as severums go they are fairly peaceful for cichlids. But all cichlids tend to be more aggressive to there own kind. I would think it would be very normal for the male to be beating up on the female in a tank that size. Even the most compatable cichlid pairs need enough space for the female to get away from the male. Generally the male wants to breed and the female is not ready so he beats the #%$& out of her. I think if you put the same 2 fish in a 125g you would see much better results. The best thing to do at this point would probably be putting an eggcrate divider in if the male does not let up some. Unfortunately a 55g just doesn't give a pair much space and breeding cichlids are aggressive to each other as much as they are to the tankmates. Sometimes even much more aggressive to each other.


Hi thanks for your thoughts.

As you are from the US do you base I assume you are basing tank size on US gallons? I am basing my tank size on UK gallons which I know differs from US although my tank would work out at roughly 66 US gallons, unlikely to make much of a difference?

I will see how they go and post some pics tomorrow.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

G'day *Dudditz*,

*jgentry's* post was very good and covered pretty much everything. I think the first question that should be answered, is the one *gage* asked, are you sure you have a male and a female?

Two cichlids of the same species do not make a pair. You could have bought two males or two females. A male and a female of the same species will not automatically pair, and quite often if they do, it's a forced pairing where the male often beats up on the female.

Many SA cichlid keepers will often tell you, it is much better to buy 6 or more juvenile cichlids of one species and grow them out together and hope a pair forms. You keep the pair and sell the unwanted cichlids. Pairs formed this way often have a very strong bond and any aggression is usually restricted to the pre spawning ritual.

I also think *jgentry* made a good suggestion about looking to move the two fish to a 6 foot, 125 (USA) gallon tank. I'm of the opinion that fish that grow larger than 8 inches should not be kept in 4 foot tanks. Large fish just don't have the space to get away from each other in 4 foot tanks. Even a 4 inch fish will struggle to evade another 4 inch fish in an inadequately scaped tank.


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## jgentry (Jul 3, 2008)

Dudditz said:


> jgentry said:
> 
> 
> > Well, let me start off by saying that a 55g would be the bare minimum for a pair of severums and is probably a little too small. Severums are big fish as adults. Depending upon your tankmates you might already be a little overstocked.
> ...


What are the demensions? length and width are much more important then actual gallons when it comes to cichlids. Post us some pics to verify that you have a Male and female when you get a chance.


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## Dudditz (Jul 12, 2009)

Dimensions are 121x41x55 cm

Will get some pics up shortly, trying to get a good pic is proving a bit difficult.


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## Dudditz (Jul 12, 2009)

This is the fish that I have been told is a female.
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/2856/photo0059o.jpg

And this is the male, so I have been told
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/2060/photo0060b.jpg


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## jgentry (Jul 3, 2008)

How big are they? They look pretty young. The pics are a little blurry but it looks it could be 2 females to me. If anything the top pic is the male and the bottom is the female. If they are 4+ inches just from the pics you posted I think they are both female.


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## Dudditz (Jul 12, 2009)

jgentry said:


> How big are they? They look pretty young. The pics are a little blurry but it looks it could be 2 females to me. If anything the top pic is the male and the bottom is the female. If they are 4+ inches just from the pics you posted I think they are both female.


So I was told opposites 

Anyway if that is the case and as you say the top pic is the female and the bottom the male, that would mean the male is getting beat on by the female. Can't say I have ever seen this when keeping fish however I am not massively experienced.

Would this be quite a common occurrence?

As for the size I would say they are 2 inches at most.

And sorry the pics are a bit blurry, I took them on my phone, not the best I know.

I'm think for the fish sakes it may be best to maybe get rid of them. I know someone with an 8 foot tank which would probably be better for them if they are just going to fight in my tank.

I would love to keep them but just can't afford to upgrade to a bigger tank at the moment


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## jgentry (Jul 3, 2008)

At that size they are not big enough to be a pair so the aggression you are seeing is just normal aggression toward others of the same type. You would get this with most any SA/CA cichlid together. If you like the fish I would keep the male if it is a male and rehome the female. A single severum would look nice in a tank the size of yours.


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## Dudditz (Jul 12, 2009)

jgentry said:


> At that size they are not big enough to be a pair so the aggression you are seeing is just normal aggression toward others of the same type. You would get this with most any SA/CA cichlid together. If you like the fish I would keep the male if it is a male and rehome the female. A single severum would look nice in a tank the size of yours.


Ok many thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

I will look into moving the female on and I think I may keep the male.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

I wouldn't try and distinguish which is which, as neither are mature enough to tell.


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