Festivum's...hows there temperment?

glenbo

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 26, 2008
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England
Im in the process of rehoming my Firemouth,hes becoming the tank bully and I was looking for a fish to replace him

My current stock is

100g

3 x Severum (1 x Gold,1 x Turquoise,1 x Banded,heros efasciatus)
1 x Female Kribensis (Pelvicachromis pulcher)
1 x Green Acara (Aequidens coeruleopunctatus)
1 x Rainbow Cichlid (Herotilapia multispinosa)
1 x Pearl Eartheater (Geophagus brasiliensis)
2 x Angel Fish (1 x Koi,1 x Black,Pterophyllum scalare)
1 x Blue Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus)
1 x Sail fin Plec (Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps)
3 x bosemani rainbowfish (Melanotaenia boesemani)
3 x Red Rainbowfish (Glossolepis incisus)
3 x Clown Loach (Chromobotia macracanthus)

One of the Severusm will be rehomed later on as i'm growing 2 on to see what there adult markings are going to be like (1 is a suspected rotty and the other a turq)

How would a Festivum get on with my current stocking?
 

edoc

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 16, 2006
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stratford-upon-avon U.K
I've got a couple pairs of wild festivus in my 8x2x2 and they can definately hold their own, they're in with uaru's and sevs and until recently spectabilis . they're a great fish and I think underated, would make a much better choice for your tank than the firemouth IMO.

BTW most Festivum you see over here are actually m.insignis the fish I have are true m. festivus
 

jonclark96

Polypterus
MFK Member
Mar 8, 2009
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Frederick MD
I tried several years ago to raise festivum with severums. I got them all at about the same size, around 1.5". As soon as the male sev hit 4", he harassed both festivums to death before I could get them into another tank.

Maybe this was an overly agressive sev, but the festivums I had spent most of the time hiding. I would put them more on par with keyholes than fire mouths.
 

glenbo

Feeder Fish
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Aug 26, 2008
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England
Really? My Sevs are really peaceful,I have a 8" Severum with a less than 1" Severum in my tank with no problems! :p
 

edoc

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 16, 2006
33
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0
stratford-upon-avon U.K
My largest sev is around 5" the festivums are 3-4" one pair are breeding and will chase away anything that comes close including the specs that used to be in with inthe same tank,infact the breeding pair defend the eggs with the same aggression levels of convicts ,which quite surprised me. ,the non breeding festivums are rather peaceful.
 

Kcoastsurfguy

Feeder Fish
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Jun 18, 2009
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MD
glenbo;3280846; said:
Really? My Sevs are really peaceful,I have a 8" Severum with a less than 1" Severum in my tank with no problems! :p
Mine are also the most peaceful fish I own, but I have seen some that are just plain mean and go after everything in the tank
 

ryansmith83

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
May 2, 2008
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Florida
I've had two groups of wild festivums in the past two years -- my first group was six M. acora and my current group is six M. festivus. Both groups have been more aggressive than I thought they would be. The first group, at 2", attacked adult discus that were 6"+. The current group attacks my wild Peruvian angels and chases my 4" severums.

I love the festivums but they're definitely more aggressive than the peaceful community fish they're made out to be. I would keep them in a larger tank because they like to chase. Mine are spawning all over my 150 gallon and they take up about half the tank when defending their territory.
 

glenbo

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 26, 2008
853
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England
I'm only planning on a individual tho so breeding wont be a issue with the Festivum :)
 
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