Hello, I am in the process of transfering my South American cichlids to our new house. I have a breeding pair of Jewels and hopefully a breeding pair of Blue Acaras. I also have one red dot Heros Severum who is now getting picked on! I want to find him a female but I'm wondering if there is enough room in my 28 gallon bow front tank... What do you think?!
Is there enough room???
- Thread starter Lauren22
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To be honest, you wont have room for the Severum in general in the 28 gallon.They get pretty huge later on down the road, but do you plan on upgrading your tank in the near future?Severums are not very aggressive, but they seem to play referee a alot in fights going on in a tank.
Well I definitely plan on upgrading eventually, not in the near future though. I've had my severum for a year now and he is doing well but hasn't grown, I thought he was full grown. He is about six inches long.
Nope, the largest one I have seen was 9 inches at local fish stores, but you wont really find those at petsmart or petco at that size.When that Severum reaches that 9 inch mark in the 28 gallon, he or she wont have a issue taking out the smaller tank mates.What size tank are you looking for exactly?
What size tank am I looking for??? Right now I'm not looking for another tank. I would love to get a HUGE one in a few years... just not at the moment 
And I don't fish shop at petsmart and petco lol. I go to a local petstore, Pets N You. they buy from local breeders. They are very knowledgeable. They have a pair of severums, they are probably 9 inches. I just thought mine was a runt lol I was okay with that too So now the question is... should I keep my severum? he seems unhappy 
And I don't fish shop at petsmart and petco lol. I go to a local petstore, Pets N You. they buy from local breeders. They are very knowledgeable. They have a pair of severums, they are probably 9 inches. I just thought mine was a runt lol I was okay with that too So now the question is... should I keep my severum? he seems unhappy What size tank am I looking for??? Right now I'm not looking for another tank. I would love to get a HUGE one in a few years... just not at the moment
To be honest, I wouldn't keep the Severum then, because he seems to be picked on a lot.
What size tank am I looking for??? Right now I'm not looking for another tank. I would love to get a HUGE one in a few years... just not at the moment
Its unhappy because its crammed in a 28 gallon tank with four other fish that are viewing it as a potential threat to their would be offspring. 28 gallons are not enough for one severurm long term, let alone 1 plus 2 breeding pairs.... Smh.
If you dont have any plans of upgrading to a larger tank and providing proper accomodations for the fish you have at the moment, them perhaps you shouldnt be keeping them at all. Look into some small tetras or those colorful guppies
There are cichlids you can keep in that size tank, but not sevs. Did the LFS know what size tank you were putting the sev in? If so, they are not as knowledgeable as you may have thought.
Really, you basically have to options here... keep the sevs, get a bigger tank (if you keep all 3, then 90 gallons or larger, imo), or get rid of the sevs. The tank you have now is not even suitable for one adult. Hope you get it worked out!
Really, you basically have to options here... keep the sevs, get a bigger tank (if you keep all 3, then 90 gallons or larger, imo), or get rid of the sevs. The tank you have now is not even suitable for one adult. Hope you get it worked out!
As the others have stated your 28 gallon is too small for those fish. Two breeding pairs and a lone Sev is too much. I wouldn't even consider keeping three breeding pairs in a tank of that size. The best thing to do is find a larger tank (craigslist) or keep different fish. There are many fish that will live a long happy life in your tank. Forcing fish to live in inappropriate housing will lead to stunted growth, health issues, and aggression. If the other fish are still small, you can at least remove the Sev to save it and make more room for the others.