Heros species questions

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Jakob

Jakob

Piranha
MFK Member
Feb 22, 2008
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Iceland
I have a 125g tank with CA/SA cichlids.
Stock:
1x Oscar 9"
1x Firemouth 4-5"
2x Geophagus Abalios 6"
2x Heros Efasciatus breeding pair, male 7" female 5-6".

After the H. Efasciatus pair started breeding they have become really aggressive, already killed a 7" Nic and they have taken over like 60% of the tank.

I went to an lfs yesterday and saw some Heros Notatus and Heros Severum (real mouthbreeding sevs). They were all about 2".
I really wanted to get some, I have a grow out tank to put them in first.

I was wondering if I could keep a Heros species only tank, let the H. Severum and H. Notatus grow out first and them add them to the tank, get rid of the other cichlids.

Would the tank be to aggressive?
Overstocked?
Which of the Heros species mentioned above is the rarest?
And which is the most common one?

Thanks in advance. :)
 
Well I wouldn't say that how I keep some of my my severums is the optimal way but it has been working for me. I have a 90g tank housing 2 breeding pairs of 'efasciatus' and 2 breeding pairs of 'notatus' along with an extral male of each. The only other inhabitants are 3 G. sp. Redhead Tapajos. The sevs are always breeding. Often 2 pair will have young swimming about at the same time. The number of fish is high but results in smaller territories being defended by the pairs and the aggression is spread around. Rarely is there a split fin or missing scale on any of the inhabitants. One thing - - -they all grew up together from a small size. Here's a video of two pair ('efasciatus' and 'notatus') breeding on opposite sides of the same half-pot in that tank.
[video=youtube;ow_Njq4JYmY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow_Njq4JYmY[/video]
 
My Atabapo pair (mouthbrooders) are very aggressive when spawning. They take over half of my 210 gallon and do quite a bit of damage to any fish that venture into their territory. They are especially hard on my other Atabapo severum and my lone male notatus.

I wouldn't put more than six large severums in a 125, especially if there are one or more pairs. Two pairs would probably be a better solution if you go the breeding route, or an all-male tank if you just want them for show.

I wouldn't really say notatus or severus are that rare now. I couldn't give my F1 notatus fry away. Both species are pretty easy to find. I would go with the ones you like the most, not the ones that are more uncommon. In my experience the notatus stay smaller than the mouthbrooders, and the males are really attractive with their green and yellow color and their black spots. The mouthbrooders tend to be large, bulky, and a bit more pushy, and their parental care is way more interesting to watch.

If your efasciatus pair is so aggressive that they killed another large cichlid, they will not go any easier on other severums.
 
Thanks for the answers. And I will probably get two of each, notatus and severums. Just to try it out at least.
 
Ime severums hate the company of other severums. The most I have ever kept together in my 220 was 2. They are all different though
 
IME they usually defend a 2-3' radius from spawning site when they breed. I used to keep three breeding pairs (different species) in the same 10x2x2 tank and they got along well. All managed to breed. But in a 6' tank, as you already found out, a breeding pair can take over a lot of room (depending on where the spawning site is). They also seem to pay less attention to species that look very different from them...less of a threat I suppose...
 
I am gonna consider this.. Thanks for your answers!
 
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