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There is a lot of conflicting information in books and online about fish..I'd like to hear from people who have experience keeping severums, either currently or in the past.

-How large do they actually get?

-Do they grow quickly?

-Do they eat or dig up plants?

-Are they ok to keep singly?

-Are there any fish you'd not recommend keeping them with?

-What would you recommend as minimum tank size?

-Have you had any problems with them not being peaceful?

Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.


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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Size: They can get anywhere between 8 and 12 inches in the home aquarium.

Growth: That depends on what you call quickly. They can hit about 6 inches in one year.

Plants: You may have some difficulty in keeping plant with them because the will eat them.

Number to keep: Yes it is ok to keep a single specimen of this fish.

Fish not recommended: Anything more aggressive such as midas cichlids, jack dempseys, convicts, or any fish small enough to make a meal of.

Minimum tank size: 55 gallons

Peacefulness: They can get aggressive during spawning, but if you keep a single specimen this should never be a problem.

This info is based on my personal experence and experience I have gained through friends in the hobby. I hope this info helps.

Okay, I'm going to preface this with, I have had only one Sevrum, it's a gold and about 7.5 inches long including the tail.

It took 3 years to get this big from about an inch long.

I've never kept live plants so I can't help you there but he does root around in the gravel at times.

If you mean just one sevrum, yes. I assume he'd do okay in a tank by himself but I've never kept him that way.

The one I have was okay with fish he started out with when he was small but any new fish got beat up. Now his only tankmates are fish bigger or meaner than him. He's in with an Oscar, a Jack dempsy, and a Pleco. That combination is working, at least with my fish but Cichlid are individuals and mine is only one fish.

Minimum tank is probably 29 gal until about 5 inches then a 55.

He has only been agressive with new fish. Him and the oscar and the Jack had a few things to work out when they first got tegether but it's all good now. Before he went to live with Oscar there were a few assaults with minor injuries but no deaths.

If you get one get a gold. There a little plain looking when they are small but once they get bigger and start getting the orange they are awesome.

Have fun, Mike

I would never put a severum in a 29 even if it is small enough. You put the fish at risk of stunting. I own a Severum that has just hit 4 inches and he is growing really quickly now. They grow slowly then they grow fast, not sure how long until they get around 8 inches though. Do not keep it with glowlight tetras, neons, cardinals, or any small tetra. Also, don't keep it with any other cichlids. Except maybe smaller bottom dwelling ones, just dont put them together if you intend to breed one of the species. Mine so far hasn't played around with the decorations and I hope he keeps that up They are pigs. They eat a lot so feed him separately form the other fish if you can, unless you have some fast schoolers that cant get some food before the severum.

HTH

-How large do they actually get? Largest I've seen in person was every bit of 8-10" long. They also get just as tall and are very thick fish.

-Do they grow quickly? Depends on what and how much you feed and how often you do water changes. They should grow probably between 0.5-0.75" per month. That's just a rough guess though.

-Do they eat or dig up plants? I can't say from experience. The only 2 severums I've kept got to ~4" or so and I can't recall them digging them up. I've never kept them with live plants though.

-Are they ok to keep singly? Yes, I can't think of a New World cichlid that is not ok to keep singly atm.

-Are there any fish you'd not recommend keeping them with? Anything small enough for a severum to eat..neons, cardinals, zebra danios. Also severums are very laid back and if you keep them with more aggressive fish you'll run the risk of the severum being bullied. Also, 2 male severums will bicker and possibly fight so be careful here as well.

-What would you recommend as minimum tank size? 75 gallons. They can be kept in smaller tanks, but being that they are so tall and thick they'd be much happier in at least a 75 as opposed to a 55.

-Have you had any problems with them not being peaceful? Only with conspecific males.

-How large do they actually get? many people say only 8"-10" but i have a friend who is a breeder that had a 12" male gold and reached that size in 18 months i believe.
-Do they grow quickly? severums grow sort of funny. they have growth spirts and slow down at different times. it highly depends on what u feed them. my current gold hit 4.25" and started on a very fast growth spirt he is now about 6" and still on his growth spirt i think. these fish can speed of growth depend very much on how much and what u feed them.
-Do they eat or dig up plants? ime they r plant murderers. i have had very bad luck with them and plants. even tough plants like java fern and anubius were destroyed quickly by my severums.
-Are they ok to keep singly? mine has been single from 2" to 6" fine. i am about to pair him. they do fine alone.
-Are there any fish you'd not recommend keeping them with?
i have kept oscars, firemouths, convicts, nicaraguense and convicts successfully with them. as long as they arent to aggressive or too mild they will be ok. i actually had my current male sev kill a similar sized green terror although that is not the norm.
-What would you recommend as minimum tank size? well for the size he is most people say 55 gallons for them. but i dont think 55 gallons is built good for a fish bigger than 8" personally. a 65-80 gallon which is also 4 feet long but deeper and wider is much more apprecciated by them.
-Have you had any problems with them not being peaceful?
i have. but i think my new current male is more aggressive than the average severum. and i am not usually the best at mxing new world cichlids either but aggression is not usually a prob for keeping severums.

my 2 smaller severums have been biting and lip locking for about an hour, whatare they doing?

Tiger_Oscar, it could be two things. tyhey could be the same sex sparring for dominance or they could be opposite sex doing mating rituals. even though it isnt likely they will have a successful brood till around 5"-7" they still try to even before sexual maturity.
does one have much more face squiggles than the other? the one that does is likely male.
i am thinking its premature mating rituals over fighting cause severums especially 2" severums arent aggro enough to go at it like that for as long as u said ime.

The largest I have seen was 8 inches round and two wide. I find they grow quicker given a varied diet including a generous portion of meaty foods. Mine went from 2 inches to six in less than a year. They will sample any veggies I put in the tank whether it is meant as food or not. They even ate my moss balls.
Those that I keep have a wide range of personality. I recommend starting with a group larger than you want then, as their temperament comes out you can trade in those that are too passive or aggressive.
I now have six as the main fish in my 300 gallon C/SA tank. They range in size from 3 to 6 inches. I started a year ago with six in a 55 gallon, although not all the same ones and not as big. They established a pecking order quickly, with lots of fin flaring and a little bit of lip locking. I have had to make a few additions and subtractions to get a good community. Granted, mine have lots of room. I think this dampens their territorial drive. They also pretty much ignore the other fish in the tank unless they are nesting. A tank with lots of furniture to swim around and use to establish territories is important especially when they start to mate. Mine only dig when making nesting sites.
A nice variation to look for is the turquoise. They are a bit rarer and more expensive, but very colorful.