Ideal purchase size (Sevs)

[GoldfishAddict]

Hey guys.
My main interest are arowana and oscars. I am interested in keeping severums with both but I have heard they grow very slowly compared to those fish.

what size should they at least be so that can’t be eaten?

I’m not sure if it matters but I’ve kept discus a lot. That probably just explains why I’m drawn to sevs aka the so called poor mans discus.

 

[duanes]

Depends on the size size of your Arowana, and oscars.
If they'll fit in (or even close to fitting) into either mouth, they're too small.

 

[GoldfishAddict]

Depends on the size size of your Arowana, and oscars.
If they'll fit in (or even close to fitting) into either mouth, they're too small.

yes I’ve learned that for sure.Goes with any fish usually if it fits in its mouth it’s food. Whether that fish is aggressive, semi-aggressive or peaceful. Speaking of peaceful the sevs seem more so than most larger cichlids.

well if I purchase them all as babies.
Like oscars can grow 2” per month and silver aros 1.5-2” per month (I think?).
Roughly how fast do the sevs grow in their first year?
If the tank is say a 240 or so?

im going as big as possible by years end! Was going to be a 220 then I learned the Silver would be better suited for more depth than a 220 offers (24”).

 

[ryansmith83]

I don’t think being eaten is a concern as far as oscars are concerned but that doesn’t mean the oscar won’t be aggressive toward the Heros. I would start with young adult Heros in the 4 - 5” range.

FYI, in literature the “poor man’s discus” used to be Uaru amphiacanthoides due to their laterally compressed round shape, bright orange/red eyes, and the fact that they feed their fry from their slime coat like discus. Somewhere along the way it got misattributed to Heros.

 

[neutrino]

Roughly how fast do the sevs grow in their first year?

Depends on their size when you get them and start counting and depends on mature size, which depends on type and to some degree the individual fish. For example, adult rotkeil are typically in the 8-9 inch range, some a little bigger. Some types can reach 10 inches and some can reach 11 or 12 inches. Common lfs "green severums" vary, due to their mixed genetics, besides other factors.

From 2 inches to 6 inches or more in a year or less is reasonable for an adult that ends up 8-10 inches ime. Your results may vary.