Anyone ever had a severum eat a tetra?

[DaveB]

Title says it all. My cousin and I are trying to come up with decent options for the large fish in his new tank. I'd just tell him geos except he has pea gravel instead of sand, might be too big for them to happily sift.

He has a bunch of tetras, obviously, as well as Coriydoras. So we're shooting for something South American. He isn't a huge fan of rams though, plus I'm looking for something bigger.

 

[Bobears]

Yes. I have. As long as they can't get em in the mouth your good. Cory's are great with sevs. My sevs have red-eyed tetra in the same tank, but their full grown. Neons, cardinals, glow lights.... NO.

 

[SusieQ]

Hi there.. I had some sevs I rescued night stalk my school of 30 rummynose and all were soon gone almost over night.. If you combine sevs and tetras they need to be fuller bodied tetras.. If it fits in their mouth they will eat it.... The cories will be much happier with sand so I would switch out the gravel and then go from there... While the tetras are iffy, the cories would be fine with a sev or maybe even a chocolate... A lot depends on what sort of fish he wants... Angels will also work with large bodied, non nippy tetras.. Does he want a wet pet glass banger or something more peaceful. If the tetras he already has are a must do then it depends a lot on what kind they are as to if they get eaten..
HTH Sue

 

[DaveB]

There are about 40 tetras in there, including lots of neons. The place he buys from is a ripoff so that's over $100 in fish, so sevs are a no. My only hesitation with angels is that I have always assumed that like discus, they prefer super soft water (total guess, as I've never been interested in keeping them but often see them with discus) and our Chicago tap is hard.

A pet would be nice, of course, but in general we just want something larger to fill the space. Right now the largest fish in the tank are some cories, and even with the 40+ tetras it looks empty.

He won't do sand. Worried about the filter plus has heard my complaints of it being harder to clean than just jamming the python right into the rocks and sucking all the dirt out.

My first satanoperca was in a pea gravel tank and still sifted happily, so adult geos would be fine, I guess. Most of what I can get is much younger/smaller though.

 

[japes]

My Chocolate tried to eat a juvenile L104, got spiked and gave up, but ignored all of my full sized Peppered Corydoras when I was holding them in that tank prior to selling (Easier to net)

Any of the Brychon Tetra such as Lemons, Bleeding Hearts, etc. with the high bodies should be fine, especially if they're introduced with juvenile Severums so they get a chance to grow. Don't think that because Rummynose are fast for example they won't get eaten, fish obviously rest at night and Rummynose are no different.

Cardinals and the other small Tetra will have a pretty good chance of surviving a while I imagine, but I'd hate to see full size Cardinals become a beautiful expensive feeder.

 

[Lupin]

There are about 40 tetras in there, including lots of neons. The place he buys from is a ripoff so that's over $100 in fish, so sevs are a no. My only hesitation with angels is that I have always assumed that like discus, they prefer super soft water (total guess, as I've never been interested in keeping them but often see them with discus) and our Chicago tap is hard.

Captive bred scalares are fine. They can adapt very well to various water conditions but the wild ones such as the true altums are trickier and all species of angels including altums will eat neons anyway so angels are not something to consider here either. Try apistogrammas and rams.

He won't do sand. Worried about the filter plus has heard my complaints of it being harder to clean than just jamming the python right into the rocks and sucking all the dirt out.

Not really. First of all, wait for all the sand to settle before switching on all your filters. When you vacuum, place the siphon at a 45 degrees angle and a few centimeters above the sand. The poo won't sink deep into it like it does in gravel and will remain above the sand so it's easier to clean sand in the long run.

 

[Lupin]

Hi there.. I had some sevs I rescued night stalk my school of 30 rummynose and all were soon gone almost over night.. If you combine sevs and tetras they need to be fuller bodied tetras.. If it fits in their mouth they will eat it.... The cories will be much happier with sand so I would switch out the gravel and then go from there... While the tetras are iffy, the cories would be fine with a sev or maybe even a chocolate... A lot depends on what sort of fish he wants... Angels will also work with large bodied, non nippy tetras.. Does he want a wet pet glass banger or something more peaceful. If the tetras he already has are a must do then it depends a lot on what kind they are as to if they get eaten..
HTH Sue

Absolutely.

 

[CTU2fan]

Other options - keyholes, blue acara, curviceps, festivums.

 

[hauntingurcoma]

my 3" green sev eats guppies and ghost shrimp with no prob

 

[SusieQ]

Hi again... I find the sand not only looks very natural and the fish like it but it is very easy to clean and it keeps the tank cleaner because you are more aware of the crap sitting on top.. I just hover the python right above the sand and it picks up the surface crap and then I poke thru the sand with the python to make sure no bad pockets develop but you can use chop sticks etc to do that if your sand is deeper than 2 inches.. If you go to Ace Hardware and get their pool filter sand it really has a nice consistency and color and does not fly around when cleaning. Also just make sure your filter inlets are about 4 or 5 inches above the sand. I've never had a filter problem arise from using sand. The cories will thank you as it is much gentler on their barbels as they hunt for scraps..
I also agree with Lupin about the angels... They are very adaptable to a wide range of ph as long as it is consistent. I do find that they seem to do better for me if the tank temp is around 80.. Yes eventually they may eat the neons.. I say may because my adults only ever went after the baby guppies and shrimp but left the baby pristella tetras alone.. you never know....
I've had keyholes and they are nice peaceful fish but I don't think they would really be the centerpiece type of fish you are looking for as they are pretty but not very colorful. and if not in a group can be very shy.
If he could trade the neons back to the lfs for some other types of fish I think he would have some more options.. usually most are willing to do some sort of deal.. Can't hurt to ask..
Keep us posted... Sue