Severum coloring/stress question

[Lako]

I've had my Severum for about 8 months now. Got it as a young 2" and is now pushing 6". When I got it he had the gold color with dark stripes. After a month or so he became darker and has stayed that way. It never really bothered me. He does show off his stripes every once in a while, but is always really dark. His dark is littered with a blue/green hue. I only decided to ask the community about his color after watching several Severum videos and seeing an assortment of pictures. My Severum is not as pretty as those(

I started to wonder if he's just under permanent stress.

55g tank. I do a weekly 30-40% water change. Parameters are: Nitrate: 10PPM; Nitrite:0 PPM; KH: 40PPM; GH 120PPM; PH 6.2.

I use Wonder Shells for trace minerals and GH for snails and general tank health.

I dose plant nutrients every other day.

I utilize a yeast C02 injection.

My tank is heavily planted. I wonder if he just doesn't have enough space but this does allow for plenty of hiding spaces. On that note, there are no aggressive tankmates. I have 2 Senegal Polys, 1 Syno, 2 Plecos, and a Siamese Algae Eater. Before you question the aggressiveness of the Bichirs they are incredible docile, ignoring the Severum and vice versa.

The following are photos of the Severum and his conditions. Any help would be welcomed. OH! While I've referenced my Severum as a male I'm not sure of the sex so any help there would be 2 birds one stone. If I didn't provide information that would help you to help me just let me know. I'd love for this fish to be a happy fish.

 

[garboy]

my sev is very strange hes changes his colors from dark as can be to light as can be like every 5 mins. But before i moved my tank he mostly stayed dark which is very strange. A tank mate could be bothering him but i dont see an issue with that stock. I just think there weird lol

 

[ryansmith83]

Sometimes they darken up based on their surroundings. If you keep them in a fairly dark tank they will keep their dark coloration. I norice your background and substrate are both fairly dark, so this could be one reason.

Juvenile severums all tend to start out looking fairly similar with a gray/brown/olive/tan base color and vertical bars. They tend to show these bars constantly as juveniles but grow out of that with time. Most adult severums won't show their bars full time unless they're stressed/excited.

He is a male. Is he active and does he eat well?

 

[Lako]

Very active and eats very well. All types of food sources.

 

[Lako]

Sometimes they darken up based on their surroundings. If you keep them in a fairly dark tank they will keep their dark coloration. I norice your background and substrate are both fairly dark, so this could be one reason.

Juvenile severums all tend to start out looking fairly similar with a gray/brown/olive/tan base color and vertical bars. They tend to show these bars constantly as juveniles but grow out of that with time. Most adult severums won't show their bars full time unless they're stressed/excited.

He is a male. Is he active and does he eat well?

Interestingly enough. One of the reasons i posted about this quandary was after reading a post you made on a different website. About your Heroine(sp) cichlids that you found and raised and bred. I saw some of the Severums in the background of your video and was disappointed mine didn't look like yours. Small world.

 

[ryansmith83]

Those severums in my video are a different species than yours -- they are mouthbrooding severums, Heros severus (actually they are H. sp. 'Atabapo' which may or may not be H. severus, but that's another thread).

The mouthbrooding severums do often keep their stripes. I have two pairs and both show their stripes 95% of the time, especially when spawning (which is what they were doing in the background of that Heroina video). During spawning they also get the black striped face mask which is kind of neat looking.

 

[Lako]

Either way, I'm not sure my guy should stay as dark as he is ALL the time. I'm really searching for something I can change that might make him happier.

Also, whichever sp. yours end up being, they were beautiful. That being said I wasn't judging mine off yours alone. Mine never displays the colors or lines that I see in most photos. :/

 

[ryansmith83]

Do you have another tank? Try moving him briefly to a tank with a lighter substrate and/or background, just to see if that does anything. Some cichlids try to blend with their surroundings. Discus are notorious for this. Severums will do it, too.

Then again, there are some tank-bred severums out there who just don't have much color. I had a female who was bland gray with a red anal fin and a few facial markings. She didn't show stripes or spots -- just solid gray. She turned black when spawning but otherwise she had no color. It's hard to tell when they're young how they're going to turn out. Some end up being stunners, and others end up kind of drab. Genetics may have more to do with it than your tank or water parameters.