Gold vs Green

[Tom_cullen]

Right guys i'm having a bit of an episode so i'm going to need some opinions.

about 2 months ago i purchesed a lovely 8" gold severum from an lfs and he settled in my 75g tank nicely. about 2 weeks ago i'm plodding about another lfs when out of the corner of my eye i spot a 3 inch green sev which had the best colours and seemed pretty cheap so i HAD to have it, after being chased around my tank with no harm done they both seemed to settle down and get on just dandy, both being male this suprised me. This is where i come undone, again im in the same store when i spot and really pretty green sevthis one appearing to be about the same size of my gold so i thought why not and got it home and introduced him. turns out hes about 8 1/2" so slightly larger than my gold.
since about 4 oclock yesterday the green has NOT stoppedd harrassing the gold sev and im becoming worried that he could seriously damage him. he has already split his fins alittle.
What do you guys think i should do? should i leave it and keep an eye on them to make sure it doesnt get to out of hand so they can establish some kind of pecking order? Some one PLEASEEEEE let me know so i can stop worrying.

thanks alot Tom x

 

[hairdog]

I would not be too worried.

 

[Tom_cullen]

Also i forgot to add, do you think the introduction of female sevs could make it worse, or calm them down alittle. maybe distract them. i'v read they become more aggressive when breeding to what degree im no expert on. lemme know x

 

[Loves severums]

Also i forgot to add, do you think the introduction of female sevs could make it worse, or calm them down alittle. maybe distract them. i'v read they become more aggressive when breeding to what degree im no expert on. lemme know x

I think that would be fine as long as the female is not bigger than the male i had a female that was bigger then the male and would chase him all aound the tank.

 

[Tom_cullen]

I think that would be fine as long as the female is not bigger than the male i had a female that was bigger then the male and would chase him all aound the tank.

its abit silly that i bought 3 male sevs 2 of which being of similar sizes and just expected them to get along. i'm really hoping for the golds sake it calms down a little. kinda feel sorry for the gold as it was his tank first. oh wells i'll keep everyone updated
x

 

[Citrinellus]

I would use a divider until the larger green sev cools down. Then rearrange the decor and and more visual barriers. It'll break up the territory and what they can't see they don't attack. In most of my cichlid tanks i have large pieces of driftwood or rock, everyone likes a little privacy. Here is a good site i used to help build a tank divider sturdy enough for my old midas who was dead set on killing my pleco. I had to set bricks on the one side to keep it from him pushing it but it worked.

 

[ErikFromNJ]

I've had a similar situation and the divider trick worked for me. I placed my divider about a 1/4 way in the tank, having the bully on the smaller side. This, (1) lets him/her cool down and (2) lets the other explore the tank some more.

After one day I pulled the divider. Then the tables had turned. The new sev was pickin on the bully but after an hour or so, they settled down and today swim in harmony. Good Luck!

 

[peathenster]

IMO your first two got along because the big gold did not see the little green as a threat. It's a different story with your new green - he apparently wants to rid the tank of the gold. You can ignore the little green and the question is how to make peace between the two big males.

Well, in all likelyhood you can't. For severums that size you choices are: 1. a single fish; 2. a compatible pair, and expect some damage; 3. add a few more. Two males are not going to work out if one hates the other.

 

[Tom_cullen]

IMO your first two got along because the big gold did not see the little green as a threat. It's a different story with your new green - he apparently wants to rid the tank of the gold. You can ignore the little green and the question is how to make peace between the two big males.

Well, in all likelyhood you can't. For severums that size you choices are: 1. a single fish; 2. a compatible pair, and expect some damage; 3. add a few more. Two males are not going to work out if one hates the other.

hm its rather irritating because they are both such beatuiful fish, i'v divided the tank to see how that goes. the gols is really looking beaten now which is really distressing. looks like i'm either going to have to re home the green or possibly consider adding some females to the equasion. would adding another male of similar size maybe take a load of the golds shoulders perhaps? so its not so much the green battering the gold but the green just splitting the abuse between the 2? it's not fair why cant they just get on

 

[peathenster]

hm its rather irritating because they are both such beatuiful fish, i'v divided the tank to see how that goes. the gols is really looking beaten now which is really distressing. looks like i'm either going to have to re home the green or possibly consider adding some females to the equasion. would adding another male of similar size maybe take a load of the golds shoulders perhaps? so its not so much the green battering the gold but the green just splitting the abuse between the 2? it's not fair why cant they just get on

LOL we all have this problem one way or the other, and severums are not the worst! Some may disagree but for a 75 you could add two more adults of similar size....just keep up with the filtration and water changes.

If you add females and a pair form out of the group, they'll want to take over at least half of your 75 during breeding. There'll be a lot of aggression and chasing around...

How about just drop in a single adult female, see which one she pairs with, and they keep the pair and get rid of the rest? There is still the risk that the male will beat up the female one day for no apparent reason...happens a lot.