Hi, I am new to fish keeping and I have inherited/rescued a large green severum, it is about 6 inches long, I am unsure if it is a male or female. I keep Sev in a 30 gallon tank with a red tail shark and a couple of algae eaters. I am intending to upgrade to a bigger tank to accommodate this lovely green severum as it is quite a character. I have plants in the tank which Sev likes but occasionally he/she completely wrecks them ..picks up the pots, pulls the plants out and it looks like a bomb has hit the tank. Should I not keep plants with the sev and just put rocks in? I am worried that all the dead plant matter that is floating around will decrease my water quality and I find it hard to keep cleaning up after a rampage. What do others suggest that know this fish please.
What is the best aquascape for a large green severum
- Thread starter Midory
- Start date
In the wild severum tend to like hanging around fallen tree branches and roots.I would try to create this in your tank with driftwood and branches.A substrate of sand would be ideal.If you wanted a really natural look you could add some dead oak leaves.
Thank you for your reply. So dead leaves are ok? I do have wood in there so maybe I'll just ditch the plants in the new tank. I would like to use sand but all the comments I have read say it's tricky to use as a substrate. Are these fish known to have behavioral issues as I notice it's when I work a late shift and the routine changes that the tank wrecking is likely to happen.
I'd recommend to definitely go with a bigger tank. 6 inch sev should still be growing and, to be fair, needs more space. Tearing up, uprooting, or eating plants is pretty standard behavior ime. Some do it more or less than others. I have kept a few plants with sevs at times, kept them well anchored, types not appealing to eat (like anubias), and had to be willing to re-anchor them every so often. As mentioned, an easier way to go for a natural look is driftwood, sand, some leaf litter if you like, and you could add a few small/medium rounded river stones or maybe a larger rock in the background as a sort of bank looking element. So, depending on tank size, there's a lot you can do to have a natural setting without needing plants and you can go for tumbled, random, natural or more sculpted natural. Floating plants with some roots in the water can also be an option.
Not all leaves are a good idea ime, but oak leaves are one that are. Best to get them well dried out and when I collect them I may do a quick blanch or microwave to kill possible bugs, etc. They'll break down in the tank over time.
Sand makes a great substrate imo, more natural for a good number of fish that like to sift sand and that have it in their natural habitat. After years of gravel I tried it years ago, then converted all my tanks, no more siphoning gravel every week. You don't want a super light sand, like playsand, that stirs up too easily and you just want to keep filter inlets far enough off the bottom to not pick it up easily (or use a pre-filter sponge, etc.). But not much 'tricky' about it if you do it right, done right and in a tank that's not overfed, not overstocked and especially with any fish that do some sand sifting, it can be low maintenance to near maintenance free-- but that will depend on the tank.
The plant behavior with sevs is just their natural behavior, they like to eat greens. It's not like it's something they do only if they're maladjusted or unhappy. For someone who wants plants it may be an inconvenience they could consider an issue, but it's their natural behavior, not a behavioral issue. All in all, keep them with compatible fish, reasonable conditions (including a large enough tank, some of them will get aggressive in too small a tank), and they're not normally a difficult fish at all.
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thank you for your comments I will definitely go with the sand in the new tank and ditch my plants probably and get leaves etc. how big is the sev likely to grow? I assumed it was fully grown and how long do they live for? approximately
Depends somewhat on type, but ime 8 inches would be on the smaller side, 9-10, closer to average, and some can get a good bit larger in the right tank. Some of them will also get pretty thick with age.
