Rotkeil eating tankmates?

[Davis102613]

I have a 135 gallon with a Rotkeil Severum (8-ish inches long), and added 9 Rummynose Tetras as dither fish to liven him up just a bit since he is in a classroom and the constant coming and going of 13-18 year old's can be frightening at times for any fish.

Today there are 4 Tetras that I have counted. Is it possible that the Rotkeil has been picking them off? I was under the impression by his habits, and by reputation that Rotkeil's were relatively peaceful and not interested in other fish. I added a Salvini and a crayfish for a bottom feeder at the same time. The Salvini is only the size of the tetras and I wouldn't think the crayfish would cause the trouble (unless maybe at nights).

What do you guys think?

 

[Drstrangelove]

Heros efasciatus eats fish, insects and plants. While it does have a peaceful nature, it may eat fish it can get in it's mouth. Crayfish of course also eat fish, but I'm not sure one crayfish finished off 5 tetras.
http://www.fishbase.org/TrophicEco/FoodItemsList.php?vstockcode=43464&genus=Heros&species=efasciatus


Heros severus as well.
http://www.fishbase.org/TrophicEco/FoodItemsList.php?vstockcode=3813&genus=Heros&species=severus

Around fish that are too large to fit in his mouth he will likely be peaceful. I kept tinfoil barbs (who are really peaceful) who were happy to swallow the zebra danios I put in the tank.

 

[ryansmith83]

Their predatory instinct will sometimes kick in if they see small, fast-moving fish. Most SA cichlids are like this. People complain all the time that their neon tetras disappear from discus tanks. They may be passive fish, but they're still omnivorous cichlids. They will eat anything small enough to catch.

There will be some cichlids that don't touch dithers like tetras, but that doesn't mean all of them will be okay with dithers.

 

[jonclark96]

I would suspect the severum ate the tetras. If you want a schooling tetra with the sev, try something that is higher bodied, like colombian tetras or black skirt tetras. I've never had any luck keeping torpedo shaped tetras with any NW cichlids.

 

[neutrino]

Agree with points above. With severums, some do, some don't eat small fish. Angelfish, discus, etc. are similar ime. Sometimes makes a difference how often they're fed; in other words if they're left alone over the weekend (which I assume is the case if it's a classroom tank) not surprising it would take advantage of snack sized tetras and once they decide a certain fish is a convenient food source, not likely to give them up.

Safer bet is higher bodied tetras as mentioned above. As another option I've had severums with congo tetras.

...But I wouldn't count the crayfish out either, unless it's quite small.

 

[Davis102613]

Thanks guys!

This morning I walked in and found one less tetra yet again, this time with a carcass. The eyes and fins have been nipped out over night. I thought the Rotkeil would've swallowed it whole, should I be paying more attention to the actions of the small salvini instead of the Rotkeil, or is that standard procedure for a severum? And the crayfish is maybe an inch/inch 1/2 in length so fairly small.

 

[Fjb6673]

I have 2 rotkeil and a gold severum, and I use columbian tetra as dither. The sevs don't bother them, and I think having a schooling fish with the large cichlids look great in the tank.