# Severum stocking



## New Boy (Feb 27, 2003)

Hi,

How many severum's should I go for in a tank that is 2 metres long, 55 cm wide and 75 cm deep. I'm looking at how many when they are fully grown and kept on their own with just 3 bristlenoses and a shoal (about 10) of dither fish like congo tetras or rainbows.

Thanks for any help


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

Perhaps two?

Really depends...

Severums are wonderful, and peaceful for the most part, but two males will be territorial and will bicker about space a bit. Your tank sounds big enough that there's enough room to accommodate that.

An official male/female "pair" would be very happy, but would get quite territorial around breeding time, and likely be pretty aggressive towards any other severum(s) in the tank. I have heard of two pairs of severums having territories at opposite ends of a 6 foot tank, though that seems it would need a little luck.

You can probably get away with more than two severums more successfully if they're all females, but that's rolling the dice quite a bit unless you're getting mature fish.

So, two would make the most sense to me... plus, you can have some other larger, less agressive cichlids in there. Probably one each of a given species.

Good luck!
-Ryan


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

how many gallons is that tank? whats are sizes in inches?
sorry, not a math guy


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

HONDO, this site has everything you need! 

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/calculator.php


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

man, that is awesome. thank you.


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

i would go with 3 severums hoping you get one of two scenarios. either all three get along and things go well or (i think the more likely situation) two make friends and the third wheel has to go. wether the two pair or not you will have to wait and see, but unless that is your goal, as long as they get along your tank will be perfect in my opinion.

i have two that i cant tell yet if they are male or female and i dont care if they pair but they have been together since they were like a half an inch and they are starting to get along well. one is bigger and chases the smaller sometimes but its a nice dynamic. so, to stop rambling, get 3 or more and hope to get a couple who get along. your tank would be good for 2 or 3 i think.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

G'day *New Boy*,

Wow! I think *RyanR* and *HONDO* are being very conservative on thier stocking advice. When it comes to offering advice on stocking levels, I'm known as a conservative myself, however I'd be looking at a few more fish in your tank.

For our American cousins who haven't been to the library section to do the conversions, *New Boy's* tank is a bit more than 600 liters according to the calculations of the dimension he supplied. 200cmx55cmx75cm which is 825 liters, or 78.75inx21.66inx29.5in which is 217 gallons.

One thing to note with SA cichlids. You may be only to fit two pairs of a certain species of cichlids into a certain sized tank due to thier size, behaviour and temperament. However it is still possible to stock a couple of other species of cichlid in the tank, becuase they inhabit slightly different parts of the tank, behave different and don't pose a threat to the other cichlids.

I'd be looking at two pairs of Severums, six Geophagus proximus, and a pair of either Laetacara flavilabris or Laetacara thayeri.

As for dither fish, I'd look at a school of Head-and-taillight tetra and a school of Bleeding-heart tetra.

Along with your bristlenoses, I'd also look at four Flash Plecos, Panaque sp. L204.


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

haha, man i am dumb. i tried to do the conversions of the different measurements and i came up with like 125 gallons. i am pathetic... listen to dff


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

haha, man i am dumb. i tried to do the conversions of the different measurements and i came up with like 125 gallons. i am pathetic... listen to dff


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## New Boy (Feb 27, 2003)

cool, thanks for the advice. I think the tank volume is actually in the middle as the water depth is 5 cm less than the measurements I posted which were straight full tank measurements...also when I woked out the 600 ltr a year or so back I took off 15% for displacement due to rocks/gravel etc butI don't think I really needed to do that. Anyway thanks for the suggestions - sound good, will start with some very young severums and see where I go but end up with less fish as the volume is less.

Cheers


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