Severum Question

[joesmith1992]

Hi,

I was wondering if someone can help me out sexing my severum. I introduced a "male" to this aqaurium which already held what I believed was a female ( no red mark on face) however now I am not so sure. Can someone confirm?

Cheers


The above is an alleged male which seems to be settling in fine however is showing some moderate interest in the other severum.


The above is what I believed to be a female however it has longer fins than the other fish.. so perhaps this could be male too but with no face markings?


Above is the new severum interacting , however my other severum is a bit nervous and fades / greys out sometimes.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[tiger15]

I think your sex ID is correct. I have two types of Severum, red spot and red shoulder, and males show worming on the gill plate that females are lacking.

Your Severum have nice color. What type are they.

 

[xraycer]

Can't help you with the sex id, but that tank looks impressive. Would you mind posting a full tank shoot?

 

[neutrino]

Looks like you have the gender Id correct. Fin length as a gender distinction applies to some cichlids but not all-- which includes Heros. In some types, many African species, for example, it becomes a clear difference with time, but in others it's an ambiguous to non-existent distinction.

The behavior isn't surprising if one them is a recent addition. Two Heros paring up isn't automatic, even eventual pairs can take their time in the pairing up process ime. If you haven't seen it before you may think they're fighting as they move closer to working out whether they're going to actually pair up. Fist time I ever saw it I was annoyed with the male that kept harassing my female, lol.

--I say 'Heros' because this is technically correct (Heros in general or Heros + species or type to be technically correct). I'm not as bothered by calling them 'severums' as some are, but sooner or later someone will mention it.

 

[D.harper603]

I also have a pair of severum that look very similar to yours. I believe the one with the fins extending past the tail fin would be the male and the one with the shorter fins that do not extend past the tail fin to be female. Here’s some pics of mine they have similar colors to each other but i believe one is male and one is female. First pic i believe is the male second pic i believe is the female for my fish. So one feel free to correct me if i am wrong.

 

[joesmith1992]

neutrino, you know your stuff! I appreciate the response. My LFS sells them as "Rotkeil Severum"

The female is much braver now it seems, it sometimes approaches the male whilst doing this kind of shaking motion whilst clamping its fins.. ? hopefully they will accept each other !

D.harper those are awesome! How big are they ?

Thanks for the responses ?

 

[neutrino]

neutrino, you know your stuff! I appreciate the response. My LFS sells them as "Rotkeil Severum"

Acceptable as a common name to most LFS and to most people, but an enthusiast might object, lol.

The female is much braver now it seems, it sometimes approaches the male whilst doing this kind of shaking motion whilst clamping its fins.. ? hopefully they will accept each other !

Sounds like she's interested.

 

[D.harper603]

neutrino, you know your stuff! I appreciate the response. My LFS sells them as "Rotkeil Severum"

The female is much braver now it seems, it sometimes approaches the male whilst doing this kind of shaking motion whilst clamping its fins.. ? hopefully they will accept each other !

D.harper those are awesome! How big are they ?

Thanks for the responses ?

thank you the bigger one is probably 4.5-5 inches and the smaller one is about 3.5 inches. i try to get a tape measure close to the tank and every fish in the tank hides when they see it coming haha.

 

[tiger15]

Unlike African mouthbrooders, females of many egg layers are more pushy than males.

 

[SandNukka15]

I also have a pair of severum that look very similar to yours. I believe the one with the fins extending past the tail fin would be the male and the one with the shorter fins that do not extend past the tail fin to be female. Here’s some pics of mine they have similar colors to each other but i believe one is male and one is female. First pic i believe is the male second pic i believe is the female for my fish. So one feel free to correct me if i am wrong.

View attachment 1405761

View attachment 1405762

Are these red shoulder or redneck?... is there even a difference?