# Is this a Severum, Red Devil or someting else?



## Bernese (Aug 14, 2016)

I had a friend give me a fish 2 years ago that I thought was a Severum. Now I'm not so sure? After looking at some photos I think it may be Red Devil or Hybrid of bc he has this whitish paler coloring on top of his head & back behind his cheeks. I wanted to know if you could tell me what kind of Cichlid he is & what sex?
I had decided he was a female when I thought he was a Severum bc the rounded fins & lack of markings on his face.
I had decided to sell him bc all I had was a 55G & I had read they can't be kept in one when grown bc of their size & he is 7 inches now! I have had him for 2 years in with my African Cichlids & they have done very well together (there were 2 Cobalts & 2 Red Zebra's, 2 Ice Blue Zebra, OB Peacock, Strawberry Peacock, Burnt Orange Peacock, Electric Blue Johanni & Auratus) but 3 weeks ago I got a few new small African Cichlids & he's staying to one side up at the top corner & I noticed that 2 of the new ones are hassling him a bit but not picking at his fins. That is also 1 reason I had thought it may be a female?
I have someone that may give me a 30-40G tank & I also wanted to know if I could put it in there if its a Red Devil or something else since they say I can't keep a Severum in a 55G? Please advise what I should do?
The last photo is him with the other tank mates.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Blood parrot.
It's a hybrid CA cichlid that is commonly available. It does have resemblance to Red Devil ( or Midas cichlid) because it is known to be one of the parents used to make the breed. What else is used in the mix is not exactly known for sure, but severum definitely not. Any resemblance to a severum is superficial. There is some evidence that synspilum would be involved in the mix as 2 threads on MFK show many of the offspring of a Midas X synspilum cross to be almost identical to the commonly available blood parrot.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Bernese said:


> I had decided to sell him bc all I had was a 55G & I had read they can't be kept in one when grown bc of their size & he is 7 inches now! I have had him for 2 years in with my African Cichlids & they have done very well together


From my perspective, it's very much up to you if you want to continue housing it with your African cichlids. If it has done fine for 2 years, I really don't see the problem. "If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it". At it's size now, a blood parrot probably won't get too much larger.
As far as a minimum tank size for a severum, there is definitely varying opinions. IMO a 55 is suitable as a minimum, though others might disagree. Certainly, if a 55 is unsuitable for a severum, it is even more unsuitable for a Red Devil/midas . A RD/midas is typically a much larger fish then a severum . It's also a highly aggressive fish that can be difficult to house with other tankmates, even in large tanks. But you have a blood parrot, so really not relavent points , anyways.
Keeping a blood parrot with Malawi Africans is really no different then keeping Malawi Africans with just about any other CA cichlid. IMO and IME, they often can make good tank mates. Less competitive with cichlids that are a little different. One advantage of the blood parrot over many CA species, is that they don't grow that large and are less likely to pose an aggression problem in a small tanks compared to most CA species. Despite what some people may say, water parameters are not an issue. If the fish are getting unaltered tap water anyways, what's the difference? Most CA come from similar pH and while CA often do come from significantly harder water, they generally do well in a very wide range of water chemistry.


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## Bernese (Aug 14, 2016)

Thanks so much for the info! Wow! Blood Parrot! Would have never guessed that! Lol... Well, I think I would like to keep him if he's not going to keep getting bigger now. Can the Blood Parrot his size go in a smaller tank than a 55g? if, so what size would you suggest as a minimum size & still be able to have something in there with him?
Can you tell the sex, if male or female? Since he has the white on him do you think he is a definate Hybrid of the Blood Parrot? I'll have to read up on them! We were thinking he was a male originally, so we were calling him Goliath, lol.
If I do get another tank would it be better to put him with other CA Cichlids or keep im where he is & put the smaller ones that are bothering him, out & keep in the smaller tank?


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Bernese said:


> Can the Blood Parrot his size go in a smaller tank than a 55g? if, so what size would you suggest as a minimum size & still be able to have something in there with him?


I would probably see a 40 gallon "breeder" ( dimensions:36" x 18" x 16", including false bottom) as the very minmum for a blood parrot.


Bernese said:


> Can you tell the sex, if male or female?


No, they really can't be sexed from a picture. Like most other cichlids, they could be sexed reliably by observing the breeding tubes over a period of time, but even that, really need to see it in person, rather then pictures.
By the way, males are sterile so cannot reproduce. Females can be crossed with other CA cichlids, but the offspring should never be distributed. So producing bloodparrots by breeding them, is really beyond the realm of the average aquarist.


Bernese said:


> Since he has the white on him do you think he is a definate Hybrid of the Blood Parrot?


No reason to think so. 
I suppose there is some chance that your fish is a blood parrot cross, and if so, a cross with RD/midas would seem like the more likely cross. There are lots of threads online with documented examples of CA crosses with blood parrots, and most crosses, there are very few offspring with blood parrot body shape, let alone it's funny deformed head and mouth. 
Your making too much out of a little bit of whitish coloration. The blood parrot is already a hybrid fish and it owes it's coloration to it's RD/midas parent. Nothing really unusual about your fish's coloration. Your fish definitely has the deformed blood parrot head and snout, though some blood parrots have it more extreme. It has less of a deformed mouth then most, though it definitely has some deformity in it's mouth. Of course blood parrots can vary to some extents in their traits. After all, it is a hybrid fish.


Bernese said:


> If I do get another tank would it be better to put him with other CA Cichlids or keep im where he is & put the smaller ones that are bothering him, out & keep in the smaller tank?


Well, your statement "they have done very well together" seems to contradict "the smaller ones that are bothering him". If it is getting picked on now, then maybe you should remove it (?). I think a 55 is really a minimum to keep most Malawi mbuna, so putting the smaller ones into a smaller tank may not be an option, at least long term. 
With other CA in a small tank, I think you would be limited to pretty much firemouths and/or female convicts. Another blood parrot might be an option if they are opposite sex. But no guarantee that any of these would necessarily get along.


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