Severums And Cory Cats..

[BitterCowgal]

I have several Juvenile Green Severums and am wondering what species of fish they could safetly be housed with. I'm a huge fan of Cory cats. Would a shoal of Corys be okay in a tank with Severums? I wonder due to the difference in size as maturity. At the moment my Severums are living with my 3" Channel Catfish and get on well with it. I'll be moving the Severums to a larger tank soon however and the Channel Cat won't be following them to it so I'm trying to figure out some new tankmates. I'd love to add some Corys to the tank if they won't be eaten. The species of Corys that I keep mature at between 1.5" to 2". Any other fish suggestions? I'm relatively new to SA Cichlids.

Thanks in advance..
-Heather

*Note: This is a crosspost between a couple forums. I'm looking to get as many answers as I can. So far nobody on the Cichlid forum has given a definative answer*

 

[RadaR]

I wouldnt keep Cories with Severums. Severums would pick at cories and when they are bigger enough to eat them then its both dangerous for the Sev and Cory.
Channel Catfish would also eat cories without a doubt. You know Channels get to 2ft long dont you?

 

[BitterCowgal]

I wouldnt keep Cories with Severums. Severums would pick at cories and when they are bigger enough to eat them then its both dangerous for the Sev and Cory.
Channel Catfish would also eat cories without a doubt. You know Channels get to 2ft long dont you?

As I said in my original post, the Channel Catfish won't be staying with the Severums much longer. The Severums are moving to a bigger tank while the Channel Cat moves to it's own new bigger home. I'm aware that the catfish will get quite large. I've got a pond lined up for him to move into once he's close to being too large for my tanks. My Severums don't seem to mind the Channel Cat at the moment, they don't pick or seem to care about his presence in any way.

 

[RadaR]

Ok. A pond, cool. Me and my friends are setting up a pond for one.
I still mean what i said about the Cories (

I wouldnt keep Cories with Severums. Severums would pick at cories and when they are bigger enough to eat them then its both dangerous for the Sev and Cory

.)

More people should reply to this thread so wait until you hear their views

 

[BitterCowgal]

When all is said and done I'll be left with two or three Severums. Right now I've got 8 appox. 1" babies in a 20 gallon. Very little aggression amongst themselves, rather peaceful lot. The tank is being overfiltered with weekly 25% waterchanges at present. Later on this weekend the babies will be moving to a 29 gallon. It's my intention to *try* and get a pair out of this batch of babies. Just a grow out tank. The ones I keep will eventually have a 75 gallon. Just incase anyone out there is wondering exactly what I meant by 'several'.

I'm really hoping for a definate answer. I'm getting a lot of possiblies and probaby nots and even a few definantly nots but nobody knowing for 100% certain. Hopefully someone will wander along who has put some Corys with their Severums in the past and can give a sure answer.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi BitterCowgal

I don't know much about severums, but I do know something about corys, and I always recommend against keeping corys with any kind of cichlids.

Corys are small and defenseless and tend to be stressed by aggressive tankmates. In addition to any physical damage that could be done to them (such as having their eyes nibbled out) this stress will weaken their immune systems. They are less likely to thrive than if they were kept in peaceful communities, and the end result can be that they more easily develop bacterial infections and die.

Large cichlids might even try to swallow corys whole. I know of one case where this happened and the cory threw out its pectoral fins and punctured the sides of the cichlid's mouth. The cichlid was unable to swallow it and the owner found them both dead.

 

[parker313]

Well, unfortunately there is no such thing as 100% yes or no when it comes to fish and what kind to keep together in the home aquarium.

That said, I have kept sevs and cories together with no problem whatsoever. The sevs completely ignored the cories.

 

[scrappy]

Agreed theres never a 100% gauranteed answer, try and find out is the best way.

I currently keep 4 decent sized Sevs, all over 6" (1 x Gold, 1 x Green, 1 x Wild Redneck & 1 x Silvery Greyish, Turqoisey one with black spots from its neck, of which i dont know its proper name) with 10 Cories (3 Peruvian Gold Striped, 2 Albino Aenus, 2 Julii & 3 Sterbai), 1 Green Brochis, 1 Pakistani Loach (YoYo Loach) and 1 Bristlenose.

No problems whatsoever, in fact the Sevs dont even bother each other let alone any other fish in the tank, they are the most peaceful cichlids I keep. (I also keep Green Terror, Jack Dempsey, Salvini, Sajica & Flowerhorn).

 

[vancouver]

If you're going to try to keep them together, get the largest species of cory you can find..

I've had aggressive severums, and pretty wussy ones also, so it's really hit or miss.

If they weren't in such a small tank, I'd say add the corys now so the severums can get used to them while the severums are small enough not to eat them ''easily''..

Hiding spots for the cories would also be another crucial factor in your plan working out.. if you can offer places that the cories can hide in, and the severums cant, that will obviously give the cories a better chance of survival.