# waiting for rotkeil severums to show colors



## hey_wood1981 (Apr 7, 2004)

i have 25 rotkeil severums rangning from 1.75" to around 3" all in a 90 gallon. so far none of them are showing red around the mask, just on the anal and pectoral fins and a little on the eyes. they do display some blue around the gill/face area. my question is is there anything i can do to help promote these reds to come out? i feed dianichi, hikari cichlid golld plus, frozen blood worms, omgea flakes, however they are outgrowing the flakes.. i do weekly water changes of 50%. i run 2 hob filters, both penguin 350 bio-wheels. i plan on getting rid of a buch in the future to end up with a breeding pair . could having so many in one tank keep them from coloring up? kind of like male peacocks? any help at all would be greatly appreciated.


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## DiscusQueen (Jul 16, 2007)

Hi I know you had asked about Rambos coloring.. Don't know if this will help but I feed nls, tetra color bits, krill and frozen bloodworms and omega color flakes. I think the nls and the tetra color bits really help with the coloring.. Alot of course also depends on the fish's genetics... Good luck Sue


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## jgentry (Jul 3, 2008)

They don't color up that early. You will not see a lot of color until after they are a year old. Generally somewhere between 4.5-6 inches they will start to show and you will be able to start picking out the best ones.


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## donfenyk (Jun 11, 2006)

sounds very over stocked - i hope you plan to move these out once they mature.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

donfenyk said:


> sounds very over stocked - i hope you plan to move these out once they mature.


Yes he does. Here's his original post, rotkeil severum?.


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## hey_wood1981 (Apr 7, 2004)

thanks sue! i was just amazed that yours colored up sp small! i actually went out and bought some raw shrimp last night and fed them it, just to switch things up a bit. plus i hear that helps bring out their colors.

D.F.F. hit the nail on the head, thanks. i plan on only having one mating pair when it's all said and done.


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## FishJones (Jan 2, 2009)

Looks like you are way overstocked


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

*FishJones*, I've already said it once in regards to your last post on this forum, but I'll say it again...


> Some people are just born with foot in mouth disease. You can get an operation for it these days, though it does have side effects. Namely said foot ends up your own... @rse.


Why don't you follow the link three posts up, to *hey_wood1981*'s original thread, where you'll find out he's growing out a large group of *JUVENILES* with the intention of keeping one bonded pair.

 :roll: some people are just lazy @rse so'n'so's who want to stick thier nose in where it's not wanted...oi! who just pointed the finger at me...


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## hey_wood1981 (Apr 7, 2004)

two times in one thread. 

i came across this on rotkeils. it contains a lot of pics from fry to adult. i like the variety of age in the pictures.

http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/ot ... tkeil.html


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## Zack2112 (Jul 11, 2008)

Thanks for posting this thread Hey_Wood1981. All of mine are still about the same as yours right now. Its looking like the larger tank is not in the near future like planned and they are going to get split up between my 60 and a 55 pretty soon. I hate to start getting rid of them when they are only 2 - 2.5"... I was hoping to start thinning them out once they got near 3.5 to 4"


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## michelle767 (Jun 17, 2004)

I have a breeding pair of rotkeils right now that I bought at about 1.5". The male didn't start showing any color at all until he was between 3 and 3.5". From what I've read, this is pretty typical. There's really not much you can do - it's really an age thing.
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Except if you've gotten regular sevs, not rotkeils. There's always that possibility. But yours will probably start coloring up soon.


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## Zack2112 (Jul 11, 2008)

*michelle767*

Thanks for the info, I figured thats when they would start coloring up. I know that Hey_wood and I both have rotkeils. We both got them from the same breeder and the same batch of fry. They are F1 and there were pictures posted of the parents. Its funny how everyone else says they are grwoing to fast, it seems like they are growing incredibly slow to me. haha


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## hey_wood1981 (Apr 7, 2004)

it's always in the back of my mind that maybe, just maybe i've been had and they really aren't rotkeils. i know they are but still, i'm weird like that. i fed the raw shrimp and after that i fed some canned peas. variety really does make a difference in colors.


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## Zack2112 (Jul 11, 2008)

hmmm... *** been feeding shrimp but havent tried peas.... Ill give it a shot!


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

my severum LOVES shelled peas. he doesnt like cucumbers or any type of lettuce, but peas... oh yes


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## hey_wood1981 (Apr 7, 2004)

mine didn't care for the shell. so i "popped" the insides out and them went crazy for it.


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