Tank Mates For Severum + Festivum

[fish are friends....]

I think you are gunna be pushing it to fit anymore fish in that tank, a severum itself needs a 40G and a festivum needs a 30G so having both is a bit of a sqeeze. Not at the size that they are at now but when they grow they might out grow your tank.

Another thing.. corydoras are supose to be kept in a recomended group of 3 because they are shoaling fish.

I'd add a couple more plants and you should probably get some more corys and then in my opinion, that will be your lot...
Sorry if I sound like i'm ranting just want to help you out... but these are just my opinions, hear from other people aswell!

 

[fish are friends....]

I reckon you probably could fit the in at the size the severums are now because they are going to take a long time to grow anyway.
Adding a varity of corys is a good idea too.

But I just want to warn you that when sev and fest get big you might have yo get rid of one or the Tiger Barbs. But I reckon it will be ok for the time being with often water changes.. just keep an eye on your water stats!

Have fun with them, they are great fish!

 

[Ryan_R]

how would adding 4 t.barbs and 2 more corys sound? just for adding a little bit of colour to the tank? do you think thats pushing it to far or do you think i'll be ok with larger water changes?

I'd not do tiger barbs... unless in a pretty pig shoal. These guys do best in groups of 6 or more (We have 10!). In smaller groups, their aggression may be turned outwards... and they can be quite the fin nippers..

-Ryan

 

[ox5477]

ok, first things first... that tank... your killing stocking possibilities with it. Because of the smaller bottom, your pushing in the substrate area and hindering play and living space for cories. you could still have a good sized shoal of 6 to 8 but I think with this shape... its just not made for bottom dwellers.

The severum... will get way too big and way too aggressive for the fish you mentioned keeping. Sevs can grow to atleast 10" and despite what some others state as a minimum, atleast a 70G is a must to handle the bioload and give the fish plenty of room to claim territory. The festivum should be ok but it will grow large too and maybe would only suggest a keyhole as the only other cichlid in that tank (most others are too aggressive and rams will be pestered by the much bigger festivum)

When you buy fish, make sure your buying fish that you can support for life as well. you mentioned:

"My tank is not huge and i think 4-6 2" fish will be my stocking lmit"

They may be 2" now but most cichlids grow at a very fast rate and within the first year, alot of species are atleast 80 to 90% of their full grown adult size..... so for the future, I would recommend researching any fish you want (even if the lfs says its ok.... take their advice with a grain of salt) and for your next tank... buy a normal shaped tank with vertical sides and an even bottom and top this will make your fish more happy and knowing how weak glass is under a shear forces, seeing the curved sides of your tank makes me dread picking up the dead fish and mopping/ soaking up the water from the floor....

 

[Tobigara]

i know you probably don't want to hear this but i gotta agree with ox on most points. the sev will deffinitely out grow that tank if you keep it somewhat healthy. the festivum probably will too. i'd put a pair of angels and a small group of corys in there. maybe some rams instead of the angels but my advice would be to rehome the sev and festivum

 

[ox5477]

Do whatever you want dude. Just dont ask people for there opinion if you "have experience in cichlids and don't need a tutorial"

Nothing about it is patronizing. I am simply stating facts. If you want to keep fish your own way... then fine. But, if you are going to post, dont get upset when somebody has a different idea then you

 

[Dan Robbins]

fed and never outgrew 4.5",

thats due to the size of the tank.
A fish's growth will become stuned due to accumilation of toxins because of the smaller body of water it is being housed in. Unfortunatly this usually leads to dead fish. There are a few species of severum and unfortunatly all grow more than 6" under adequate conditions. A fully grown severum can and WILL reach 10".

,i will put money on the fact that neither fish will be anything more than double its size in the next 12 months...

i completely agree with you. Chances are they'd be dead.

don't you think clearseal would be out of business?

i work in Maidenhead aquatics, and we do not stock this tank for the number of cases of Damaged tanks. Seashell tanks have also gained us alot of complaints.

people overate the size of cichlids

Unfortunatly, too many people underestimate their size too.

Oscars growing to crazy sizes yet in my old 6ft tank i had 2 extremley well fed O's that never grew any more than 9" in 6 years before i sold them with the tank and they are no bigger now a year on.

A small female oscar will stay at 9", thats not to say a male oscar cannot reach 14" +.


Ox was not pattronising you, mearly stating a fact.
I am an experianced fish keeper especially in the field of new world cichlids, I am currently writing a book on the topic of identification and welfare.
If you choose not to follow my advice, as well as Ox's who again is an experianced fish keeper, Please dont ask for help when your fish are either fighting over territory, or dead.
Dont think im trying to be nasty, Im just giving you adive. So please take it.

and one last thing...

PS i thanks to al the others who read my post and gave proper advice,much appreciated

Omiting the fact your tank is FAR too small to house larger cichlids, is not giving "proper" adive.
Im sure there people would agree with me and Ox.

 

[ox5477]

wait a minute, who said anything about 12" killer severums and exploding tanks? I think you need to step out of the corner of your parents basement for a second and stop imagining things. I specifically said for both:

The severum... will get way too big and way too aggressive for the fish you mentioned keeping.

This mentions nothing about being a "killer" just that they can grow to these sizes and like most other cichlids... which you know because "you dont need a tutorial".... they are territorial ... ie. agressive.

buy a normal shaped tank with vertical sides and an even bottom and top this will make your fish more happy and knowing how weak glass is under a shear forces, seeing the curved sides of your tank makes me dread picking up the dead fish and mopping/ soaking up the water from the floor....

Do you see the word explode in this. I dont. I said glass under shear forces makes me nervous because of the brittle material composition of the glass.


Anything else you would like to exagerate to try and make yourself not look like an a$$?

 

[Tobigara]

Well done fella.

Did you notice that i was exaggerating much as you were being patronizing?

The reason why i have a smaller tank now is...My wife does not like big tanks in our small house so she agreed on this tank because it was smaller and liked the shape.

If the fish does so happen to become a monster and/or die,the fish cost £3.50 from watermarque,it's hardly going to be a life changing issue.

Funny thing is oxo,i respect everybody else's comments here but i find you a mouthy ####.

Patronizing and then calling me a kiddie in a basement because we have conflicting opinion's. -personal attack from a kid who cannot spell- (mainly because you seem to think the tetras/barbs i mentioned were going to outgrow the tank,the tank was going to break and the Severum was going to grow to Oscar size.

@ Dan...no problem with your post at all,except the oscars @ 14"! (maybe with a injection of steroids in its a$$)

i don't know if you care but if you keep talking to people like that and won't listen to good advice, no one on this forum will give you the time of day. also, saying that the fish doesn't matter because it only cost 3.50 isn't gonna win you any friends either.

 

[Dan Robbins]

Then dont ask for it.
####.

 

[ox5477]

Im sorry to everyone on TFF that reads this thread. I should've not given in to his comments and fired back as easily as I did. He is right that I should of not told him to "step out of the corner of your parents basement for a second and stop imagining things." He was just trying to push his point across and I couldn't let him sit there and argue for a point that future TFF members might read and wonder why there was advice on this thread contradictory to everything else posted in the other threads.

Aparently he has deleted his account or been removed from TFF which is a sad thing to not have this community be for every fish lover, but if someone does not care to take in correct information about the care of a species of fish, then maybe they do not actually love fish and shouldn't be keeping them in the first place. At the least, they should not be telling other new fish keepers thats its ok to squeeze potentially large fish into a small, badly engineered tank.

Again sorry to everyone and especially the mods for the comment I made to glenbo. It was uncalled for and definatly not the type of atmosphere all of the members of TFF are looking for when looking for advice and information

Regards

~~~Brian~~~

 

[jayjay]

Even though this thread has been heavily edited by mods, lets clear up some size issues.

Oscars can and will grow 14"+, the largest recorded was around 18".

Severums will grow 10"+, I have 9" ones which are still growing, should really get to 12".

 

[fish are friends....]

what part of gloucester are you from jayjay.. i used to live there so its just out of intrest really!