Severum ID please

[Red Aimara]

Never thought I could be bitten by the bug but currently trying to freshen up my pleco tank by adding some colorful cichlids.

These two were bought as “Heros Severum” but I am seeing really different traits on each.


I am trying to add more of them into my tank but rather avoid getting any hybrids out there. Seek any experienced hobbyists out there to help me with proper ID or IDs of these two so that I can add more of the same kind/s.

Sincere thanks.

 

[tlindsey]

Never thought I could be bitten by the bug but currently trying to freshen up my pleco tank by adding some colorful cichlids.

These two were bought as “Heros Severum” but I am seeing really different traits on each.
View attachment 1389863

I am trying to add more of them into my tank but rather avoid getting any hybrids out there. Seek any experienced hobbyists out there to help me with proper ID or IDs of these two so that I can add more of the same kind/s.

Sincere thanks.

ryansmith83

 

[neutrino]

I'll defer to Ryan, who has them and has bred them, but looks like Heros severus to me, former sp. Curare or 'tiger severum'. The difference is male and female, male is the showier one with markings on the face, which is typical of many Heros types.

In brief, technically there isn't a Heros severum, which is more of a generalized hobby name, most often describing captive bred types, while some also use 'severum' casually or informally or speaking of Heros in general, etc. Actual species include H. efasciatus, notatus, liberifer, and some others, which may variously be accepted, debated, as yet undescribed as a species or sub-species, etc.

 

[neutrino]

Never thought I could be bitten by the bug but currently trying to freshen up my pleco tank by adding some colorful cichlids.

These two were bought as “Heros Severum” but I am seeing really different traits on each.

I am trying to add more of them into my tank but rather avoid getting any hybrids out there. Seek any experienced hobbyists out there to help me with proper ID or IDs of these two so that I can add more of the same kind/s.

Sincere thanks.

Do you mean the 'severum' bug or cichlid bug?

I've liked and kept 'severums' for 25 years, bred them at times, though I haven't made the concerted effort Ryan has to specialize in them or keep as many types as possible. Used to do discus, still tell myself I'll do them again sometime, but the 'severum' bug hasn't let go yet, besides some other bugs... geos, for example.

 

[Red Aimara]

Do you mean the 'severum' bug or cichlid bug?

I've liked and kept 'severums' for 25 years, bred them at times, though I haven't made the concerted effort Ryan has to specialize in them or keep as many types as possible. Used to do discus, still tell myself I'll do them again sometime, but the 'severum' bug hasn't let go yet, besides some other bugs... geos, for example.

Actually yeah...especially the WC ones. ?

Currently having an Aro (getting too aggressive) and two large cichlids with the plecos. But would rather the top swimmers be more uniformed as in a singular or perhaps 2 types of colorful and unique cichlids.

At below, the current top swimmers:

 

[Red Aimara]

Below are two pics of them taken separately. So different yet supposed to be the same. ?

 

[neutrino]

Well, now I'm not so sure. Face marking on the top one didn't show on my screen in the earlier photos, so I took it as female not showing full color. The lower fish still looks like H. severus to me. Upper fish? More like a 'green severum' or a mix maybe.

I should add, some articles, web sites, or sellers mistakenly call everything a Heros severus, sometimes including man made fish like gold severums.

Like your pleco. ?

 

[ryansmith83]

The fish with the red shoulder is Heros severus, probably a male. Unfortunately with severus the females will also show male traits (high color, facial markings) so you may not know until it goes into spawning mode.

The other fish is a male, but it’s not severus. It’s likely a mutt which we’d call a green severum or Heros efasciatus. If it’s a wild-caught fish and you knew the catch location that might narrow it down, but if it’s a tank or farm bred fish there’s no way to know if it’s pure or not. The “efasciatus” in the hobby are likely a mix of several closely-related species that have been interbred for decades.

It has traits of the Peruvian severums, H. appendiculatus, but it’s hard to say if it’s pure or not.

 

[ryansmith83]

For a little more info:

”Severum” is the common or trade name for the species in the genus Heros. There is no official species named “severum.” There are six described species (efasciatus, appendiculatus, severus, liberifer, notatus, and spurius) and potentially multiple undescribed species, if science determines they warrant their own. The whole genus needs a lot of work. For instance, Kullander collapsed appendiculatus into efasciatus saying they were one and the same, but others disagree and think they should remain separate species.

- “severus” is a valid species name. When the fish first came into the hobby, it was a catch-all name for all the species of Heros. In old literature you’ll see them listed as Heros severus (or Cichlasoma severum if you go back to the early 1900s) even though that’s no longer valid. The true, real Heros severus has recently been clarified to be the red-headed fish in your picture. You will also see outdated websites referring to the mouthbrooding severum as H. severus, but that fish has now been reclassified as H. liberifer.

Almost all of the Heros species will interbreed and lots of hobbyists and fish farms have mixed species, so unless you have a catch location in the wild or you get them from a breeder who knows the pedigree of the fish, it’s safe to assume that it’s probably a mutt. The most common ones are called “green severum” at the LFS and because you can’t positively know if they’re pure, you’d probably just refer to them as Heros sp.

European hobbyists get angry if you refer to the fish by their common name of severum. They prefer to call them Heros, which is probably less confusing in the long run. But at least in North America you will almost always see them sold under common names.

 

[Red Aimara]

Thanks for your explanation and sharing. The sexing is spot on based on their behaviours towards each other.

The challenge now for me is to slowly ID and collect more of this heros severus.