Severum question

[OutbackJack]

I have a beautiful Red Spotted Severum (profile pic) and he's the most calm fish I've ever had. My EBAs are more "aggressive" than he is; and that's a stretch. I've introduced new fish in the aquarium and the most he's done is just check them out, never nipped or chased.

Now, I've read conflicting information on Severums. I've seen that people say unless you put a pair or however many in the tank at the same time, it's impossible to introduce another one later on.

Then again, I've read that people added an additional severum without trouble. I'm just looking to be set straight here as I really don't want to cause undue stress to my fish.

I just really want another one in my tank but if not, that's perfectly fine.

 

[CrunchyLobster123]

I have a beautiful Red Spotted Severum (profile pic) and he's the most calm fish I've ever had. My EBAs are more "aggressive" than he is; and that's a stretch. I've introduced new fish in the aquarium and the most he's done is just check them out, never nipped or chased.

Now, I've read conflicting information on Severums. I've seen that people say unless you put a pair or however many in the tank at the same time, it's impossible to introduce another one later on.

Then again, I've read that people added an additional severum without trouble. I'm just looking to be set straight here as I really don't want to cause undue stress to my fish.

I just really want another one in my tank but if not, that's perfectly fine.

Honestly in terms of severums I find them to be on the more peaceful side for SA cichlids, of course when you add a new one there will be some fighting especially if the current one has been in the tank for a while as it will have to establish dominance. I’ve always had luck adding a group of 3+ juveniles and letting them sex out and pair off as they grow or adding one or two similarly sized fish just make sure you don’t end up with 2 males as they can be a bit argumentative with each other ideally end up with 2 females or a male and female. Although the issue with that is if you have other fish in the tank and you have a male/female when they decide to pair and spawn they will become quite aggressive to other fish in the tank.

 

[OutbackJack]

Honestly in terms of severums I find them to be on the more peaceful side for SA cichlids, of course when you add a new one there will be some fighting especially if the current one has been in the tank for a while as it will have to establish dominance. I’ve always had luck adding a group of 3+ juveniles and letting them sex out and pair off as they grow or adding one or two similarly sized fish just make sure you don’t end up with 2 males as they can be a bit argumentative with each other ideally end up with 2 females or a male and female. Although the issue with that is if you have other fish in the tank and you have a male/female when they decide to pair and spawn they will become quite aggressive to other fish in the tank.

Oh, thanks for the proper information, man. I appreciate that greatly. Now, do you know how to sex them properly? I've read that males have a lot of "worm like patterns" on the face and therefore, I think mine is a male.

 

[CrunchyLobster123]

Oh, thanks for the proper information, man. I appreciate that greatly. Now, do you know how to sex them properly? I've read that males have a lot of "worm like patterns" on the face and therefore, I think mine is a male.

For the most part I believe that’s true but with genetics and line breeding of the red serverum it can be a bit more tricky to know for sure as a lot of the fish both male and female have patterning on the face. Personally I would say you most likely have a male but my experiences lay in the more wild type severums (red shoulders, greens, etc) where it’s pretty cut and dry easy to tell so hopefully someone with more experience can give you an exact answer! I would definitely try to post some good pictures of its face for a solid ID when a Severum expert comes around.