Help On Keeping Gold Severums

Hello Fellow Aquarist,
I have recently acquired one baby gold severum, I believe he is only about 2-3 inches. I am new to keeping severums, any tips on keeping my Severum happy and healthy? And I have read that Severums are one of the most peaceful species of cichlids in the hobby, is this true? And I am considering adding another Sev to my 120 gallon tank because I have read that Severums' do best with other Sevs' in the tank is this true or can I just keep a single specimen? Tank Stocking at the moment is in my signature!

Thanks Guys!
- Edward

 

Bumping this up for you

 

Bumping this up for you

Thanks! But what do you mean lol?

 

Hi, this is such a busy forum that sometimes threads are missed & drop down the page, a bump moves it back up to the top where hopefully it will get some responses

 

Hi, this is such a busy forum that sometimes threads are missed & drop down the page, a bump moves it back up to the top where hopefully it will get some responses

Thanks! However, no one seems to be responding lol it's okay though I'll try to reasearch myself (if I can).

 

If you look at severums in the wild, from the videos I have seen they tend to travel in packs if not schools. They definitely are happier with others of their own kind. However, I think most people would say they do fine on their own as well.

I'm not sure where you have read that they are one of the most peaceful cichlids. They are certainly not super aggressive, however, they are a large cichlid and can definitely be very territorial if they want to be.

Given that, they are a pretty easy to care for fish as they can thrive in many water conditions and as long as they have enough space tend to leave other fish alone. I did not keep the ones that I had because it was clear they were going to get too big for my 90 gallon aquarium even though many sites say 55 is sufficient for them.

They are great fish, have great personalities and eat just about everything including plants.

@chromedome52
here would have more information than just about anyone on them

 

They need good water quality I have a red spotted gold severum and he is great I feed mine NLS pellets and once a week frozen brine shrimp I also feed him flakes they are slower growing cichlids and I like it because I don't like when I get a fish and it grows full size in half a year like my previous oscars

 

I've found my gold severums have done best on a varied diet of kens fish food, nls thera a sinking pellets, and cheap old omega one shrimp pellets (their favorite). That being said, they eat a lot of vegetable matter so having some soft leaved plants for them to snack on definitely will help. I keep some anacharis stalks in my tank for them to munch on if they get hungry. Mine have also devoured other plants like moss balls and dwarf sag though they leave my ferns and anubias alone.

They do better in groups when young but I believe they grow out of that a bit as they get older. I've got two gold sevs in my 75 right now that are still juveniles (one is about 4.5 inches and the other is about 4). They will eventually be moved to a 6 foot tank or rehomed within next year or so. Chromedome I believe has a tank of severums right now so he'll correct me on anything I said wrong. I gained most of my severum knowledge from him anyways (plus a little on my own)

 

I don't know if they're one of the most peaceful, but are towards the less aggressive end of the spectrum. Though, mine do get argumentative with each other. I don't know if they're really schooling. There's not anything special they need. Good sized tank, good variety of food, good water changes. They'll eat just about anything, live food, dead food, cooked food, raw food, meat, veggies...

 

Agreed. Mine do bicker a bit but so far it has not ended in any actual damage. More chasing and pushing. There is clearly a dominant one though so the hierarchy is well defined.

As far as temperatures go, I'm currently keeping mine around 74 or 75 but once they go into the larger tank those temps will increase to closer to 80.

 

Agreed. Mine do bicker a bit but so far it has not ended in any actual damage. More chasing and pushing. There is clearly a dominant one though so the hierarchy is well defined.

As far as temperatures go, I'm currently keeping mine around 74 or 75 but once they go into the larger tank those temps will increase to closer to 80.

Hi! Thanks so much everyone! I have a 120 gallon do you think I can add a second Severum? Stocking is in my signature

If you look at severums in the wild, from the videos I have seen they tend to travel in packs if not schools. They definitely are happier with others of their own kind. However, I think most people would say they do fine on their own as well.

I'm not sure where you have read that they are one of the most peaceful cichlids. They are certainly not super aggressive, however, they are a large cichlid and can definitely be very territorial if they want to be.

Given that, they are a pretty easy to care for fish as they can thrive in many water conditions and as long as they have enough space tend to leave other fish alone. I did not keep the ones that I had because it was clear they were going to get too big for my 90 gallon aquarium even though many sites say 55 is sufficient for them.

They are great fish, have great personalities and eat just about everything including plants.

@chromedome52
here would have more information than just about anyone on them

I don't know if they're one of the most peaceful, but are towards the less aggressive end of the spectrum. Though, mine do get argumentative with each other. I don't know if they're really schooling. There's not anything special they need. Good sized tank, good variety of food, good water changes. They'll eat just about anything, live food, dead food, cooked food, raw food, meat, veggies...

They need good water quality I have a red spotted gold severum and he is great I feed mine NLS pellets and once a week frozen brine shrimp I also feed him flakes they are slower growing cichlids and I like it because I don't like when I get a fish and it grows full size in half a year like my previous oscars

If you look at severums in the wild, from the videos I have seen they tend to travel in packs if not schools. They definitely are happier with others of their own kind. However, I think most people would say they do fine on their own as well.

I'm not sure where you have read that they are one of the most peaceful cichlids. They are certainly not super aggressive, however, they are a large cichlid and can definitely be very territorial if they want to be.

Given that, they are a pretty easy to care for fish as they can thrive in many water conditions and as long as they have enough space tend to leave other fish alone. I did not keep the ones that I had because it was clear they were going to get too big for my 90 gallon aquarium even though many sites say 55 is sufficient for them.

They are great fish, have great personalities and eat just about everything including plants.

@chromedome52
here would have more information than just about anyone on them

Thanks so much guys!

 

Hi! Thanks so much everyone! I have a 120 gallon do you think I can add a second Severum? Stocking is in my signature

5 foot tank? Should be fine but severums can get nasty with each other. Just depends on the individuals

 

5 foot tank? Should be fine but severums can get nasty with each other. Just depends on the individuals

Yes it is a 5 foot tank, I am planning to get 1 more baby one then my local LFS has got a shipment recently. My current Severum is only 3 inches lol.

 

They'll likely be fine for some time. Just keep a close eye on them

 

Hello fellow aquarist,
I have recently acquired a 2 inch baby gold Severum and he is currently in a 7 gallon quarantine tank by itself. He seems swimming active but he does not seem to eat. Is this normal?

Thanks!

Hello fellow aquarist,
I have recently acquired a 2 inch baby gold Severum and he is currently in a 7 gallon quarantine tank by itself. He seems swimming active but he does not seem to eat. Is this normal?

Thanks!

Okay it's now starting to eat but he's spitting out food. Is he eating som then spitting out the rest?

 

Hello fellow aquarist,
I have recently acquired a 2 inch baby gold Severum and he is currently in a 7 gallon quarantine tank by itself. He seems swimming active but he does not seem to eat. Is this normal?

Thanks!

Not really normal, severums are pigs. But if he hasn't settled in and isn't used to what you're feeding him it's not really unusual.

 

Not really normal, severums are pigs. But if he hasn't settled in and isn't used to what you're feeding him it's not really unusual.

HI there! He's starting to eat now! I'm feeding him Tetra Pro Algae Discs at the moment because his mouth is too small for HikarI Bio Gold Plus.
Thanks!

 

Asaflame's question has been moved to its own thread
Red Spots On Gold Severums Face, Normal?

 

Asaflame's question has been moved to its own thread
Red Spots On Gold Severums Face, Normal?

Okay, thanks for the heads up.