# questions concerning severums (extreme cichlid newbie)



## artemisblossom (Dec 2, 2008)

My lfs is getting in an order of severums within the next couple weeks. One of the people working there is bringing in a couple dozen fry. They come from the breeding of a gold and a green severum. I have 2 55 gal tanks that I am going to be stocking, one is being set up for 2 small blood parrots and the other I had filled with live bearers, corys, 2 yoyo loaches, 2 SAE and a bristlenose pleco. I am moving all the live bearers (and the others if necessary) here are my questions
1. would the severums be compatible with the blood parrots if all of them were put together when quite small.
2. Should I get one severum per tank or several
3. IF I added severums to a tank with the corys etc would the little bottom feeders be eaten?
4 If I buy some severums should I try to get pairs of males and females
5 The person who has the fry said they are about the size of quarters right now and they all look alike...will they turn out to be just a muddy mixture of both colors or will some be gold and some be green?

Sorry for all the questions but I have never even seen one before other than in pictures.


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## wiseoldowl (Feb 19, 2008)

answer to question 1
I kept a blood red parrot and a gold severum togather
in a 30 gal untill they were about 4 inches. the parrot was
the more agressive of the two.now in a 90 gal and 8 inches long
the parrot harasses the severum all the time but no damage.

question 2
personally i think two severum in a 55 would be plenty. however if
you want pairs you could start out with several untill pairs form. in
my experance they are hard to pair and can be vary agressive with
each other. so be prepared thin them out.

question 3
i have kept severm with much smaller fish. they usely pay no attention
to them. they mostly just bother each other.

these answers are just from my personal experience. someone will probley
disagree. they usely do. lol.

question 5
i dont know how they will turn out. maybe someone else here can answer that.


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## MidNightCowBoy (May 7, 2007)

Severums are fiarly common so I would suggesting getting a pure strain instead of a mixed strain.

Also fully grown sevs will be fairly cramped in a 55 gallon. While a 55 is nice and wide at 4 feet it is the paltry 12 inches of depth that makes it a bummer for larger fish and Sevs can get pretty large when full grown. A 55 makes a good growout tank tho.


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## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

I wouldn't keep severums in a 55 gallon long term. Been there, done that. They're in a 135 right now, and much happier. Certainly, it's physically possible, but my Rotkeils were not happy. They fought a lot, and hid most of the time.

If you decide to do it, make sure your filtration is top notch. I had two AC 70's on the tank with 2 5"+ Rotts, and both filters were filthy every week.

Bottom line, it can be done...but I'd pass on these guys until you get a bigger set up. If you're going to the work of keeping Severums, I'd get some rotkeils. Much better looking. Just my $0.02.


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## artemisblossom (Dec 2, 2008)

thanks for the info. I will most likely move up to a bigger tank when they get larger

I have never heard of rotkeils I will do a search on them


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## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

There is a frequent poster in the SA section...I think his name is blario1 or something like that. He has an amazing looking Rotkeil. Look for his name.


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## Ape-Fish (Jul 1, 2006)

The cories should be OK.


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

artemisblossom said:


> 1. would the severums be compatible with the blood parrots if all of them were put together when quite small.
> 2. Should I get one severum per tank or several
> 3. IF I added severums to a tank with the corys etc would the little bottom feeders be eaten?
> 4 If I buy some severums should I try to get pairs of males and females
> 5 The person who has the fry said they are about the size of quarters right now and they all look alike...will they turn out to be just a muddy mixture of both colors or will some be gold and some be green?


Severums are great fish. My understanding is that the gold severums are a recessive variant of the green severums, so a "mix" should be green.... just don't quote me on that! :lol:

Severums are great with most non-cichlids, and cichlids too small to be counted as a "competitor".

Can be a little funky with other similar sized cichlids. A nearby restaurant has two sevs and two parrots in a 90g. Very laid back tank.

In our house, we have one large male severum in each of our 75g tanks... they're both the top of each pecking order. While mostly peaceful, they'll occasionally give the other cichlids (the chocolate, black belt, and other smaller severum) a good chase. A little frustrating. I'm planning to get a bigger tank(s) this summer.

My recommendation would be a single severum in a 55g. You could try to mix in the parrots, but I'd have a "plan B" ready to go, just in case.

Good luck with them!  
-Ryan


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

> Severums are great fish. My understanding is that the gold severums are a recessive variant of the green severums, so a "mix" should be green.... just don't quote me on that! Laugh Out Loud


haha, i quoted you... :lol:

anyways, to the point:

1) usually sevs and blood parrots will be fine

2) depends, i wouldnt put more then one in a 55, and even then, i wouldnt do it permanently.

3) if the sev hits 12", probably

4) if you want a pair, start with 6+ juvi's

5) under no circumstance should they be a mix of colors, it will depend on the greens genes as to how many gold there are.


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