Can a pair of severums live comfortably in a 44 gallon pentagon tank?

[djlamonica]

Hmm I guess mu severums don't grow at the rate of yours I have a few that should be about a year old and are no where close to 7".

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[Mythic Figment]

^ I wouldn't bother with a 40 breeder for severums. My wild notatus pair was in a 55 when they were about 7" and it was almost too cramped. A 75 would be perfect, especially if you want the parents to raise the fry for a few weeks.

Remember that the size of the fish and tank dimensions are not the only things to consider when selecting a tank size. You also have to take into account the aggression/activity level of the fish. I am breeding Heroina isonycterina pairs in 40 breeders. They are only 4 - 5" fish but the female doesn't have much of an escape if the male gets pushy or vice versa. Severums are larger and bulkier fish, and should have no problem reaching 5 - 7" in their first year. My tank-bred turquoise males were 9 - 10" by the time they were 2 years old and very pushy when spawning. The 75 will give you the length of the 55 but a more comfortable width for fish that can possibly reach 10". JMO.

I don't intend to get anything smaller than a 75. The space I intend to place the tank in is a little over 4.5' long, so a 90 is about as big as I am going to be able to handle. I am going to take the first good looking tank offered. If it is a 90, that will be the end of it. If it is a 75, I will hold out a year or so and start looking for a 90 when they hit about 7-8". And if that should happen, I will have myself my fourth tank and more stocking to do once the sevs move into a 90.


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[zekni]

Something you're not taking into consideration for the pair with the smaller tanks is the aggression involved. I have several pairs of severums and all of them, the males are quite aggressive with the females while breeding. I don't see how she could escape in a smaller aquarium. They might be okay space-wise, but you still risk losing one when they can't get away from each other.

 

[Mythic Figment]

Something you're not taking into consideration for the pair with the smaller tanks is the aggression involved. I have several pairs of severums and all of them, the males are quite aggressive with the females while breeding. I don't see how she could escape in a smaller aquarium. They might be okay space-wise, but you still risk losing one when they can't get away from each other.

True. I think a 75 with plenty of driftwood, a few plants and maybe a clay flowerpot or two will make sure they have plenty of space to hide. And I have recently considered possibly including some larger tetras for dither fish. There is always the risk of them going after the eggs, but I think dithers would greatly reduce any breeding aggression between the pair. And if they end up eating too many eggs or the severums just can't settle down with the dithers and eat their eggs constantly, I can take them out to see if they can live together peacefully alone.


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