Severum id?
- Thread starter .C.J.
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Yup, looks like a green severum to me. Green severum is a common name btw and there can be a few different closely related sp.'s called a green severum.
Thanks for the reply! Follow up question is this also a green severum or these the ones called turquoise severum? They look the same to me except these ones has a bit of a blue green color to them.
Can this be considered to be the “real” green severum? Cause like what you said there are other species that are also called green severum that look fairly similar to the real greens. Sorry as i dont have much knowledge with severums.
They are all considered Heros efasciatus, the “green” severum. “Turquoise” is a common name given to Heros appendiculatus which the second fish are not.
Naming them by color is a bad idea which is why common names are so misleading. “Green” and “turquoise” severums can be green, blue, grey, brown, etc.
Also, unless they’re wild-caught fish, most commercially bred Heros are a mix of various types which is why their color and shape is highly variable. In the hobby we still call these Heros efasciatus but really they’re mutts.
Naming them by color is a bad idea which is why common names are so misleading. “Green” and “turquoise” severums can be green, blue, grey, brown, etc.
Also, unless they’re wild-caught fish, most commercially bred Heros are a mix of various types which is why their color and shape is highly variable. In the hobby we still call these Heros efasciatus but really they’re mutts.
Back in the 50s when I had them, all species of "severum" were basically lumped together as one (maybe separated by color) but still thought of as only generic "severum" and inadvertently mixed by local aquarists.
This has been the case with many cichlids from back then (and even more recently) , when little was known or considered in the fish trade. about species diversity.
Many Herichthys were just thought of as green or blue Texas, and there are at least 4 or5 different species that look similar enough to be cross bred, and we why we have ended up with mutts, and so many confused ID threads.
There are many examples from over the decades, festivum is another prime example from back then (we now recognize @ 6 separate spice),
back then, they weee just festivum.
And even later when Paratilapia where imported in the 80s, they all were basically thought of as small spot or large, not realizing they were actually 5 or6 separate species.
This is how we ended up with so many aquarium strain "mutts", so as Ryan said, unless wild caught, or without knowing where it was caught, and/or if it was bred true, it is really just a crapshoot when trying to ID many LFS buys, and a couple photos will not really be enough to tell the story.
And with all today's fad of amateur crossbreeding to produce "hybrids" I believe it will become even more problematic, consider all the Parachromis ID threads these days, where respect for species has been tossed aside and the photos are obviously jag mutts, and in turn, impossible to name.
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Agree with comments above. There are some distinctive Heros species and populations, but 'turquoise' can mean different things to different people, often it's just a synonym for 'green.' The efasciatus species (as currently defined) comes from varioius locations. Some have interesting color or patterns, subtly different from average lfs severums but sometimes very similar to other locations. Due to the mixing mentioned above, such characteristics sometimes show up to a degree in garden variety "green severums".
...Frustratingly, excepting H. severus and liberifer (or rotkeil, which remains popular), covid and other factors have made it very difficult to find some of the less common wild type Heros, including some that used to be (relatively) easy to come by.
...Frustratingly, excepting H. severus and liberifer (or rotkeil, which remains popular), covid and other factors have made it very difficult to find some of the less common wild type Heros, including some that used to be (relatively) easy to come by.
Covid has especially hard hit indigenous populations in South and Central America, and "they" are often the people that do the collecting.
Here in Panama the Guna people have are very hard hit by Covid, and it is in their area that many interesting species are endemic.
The Guna Yala area near the Darien where Panama borders Colombia, has been closed to travel for almost 6 months.
I had planned a couple trips there to collect Isthmoheros tuyrensus with the help of the Guna, but with restricted schedules allowing men out certain days and women others, and for only a limited hours, I expect it will be months or even more until that is possible.
Shipping restrictions are also affecting some imports, more so on the east coast from what I've been told. And for whatever reason, some Heros that have been around here for years are not or are rarely being offered for sale right now-- partly, I suspect, because severus and liberifer have become the hot types lately. It's nice those are available now, but if you want something else...
But, yes, without getting too topical or political, it's sad what's happening to the locals in some places.
I might add, there's an occasional exception to ambiguous turquoise severums, so it's not a blanket rule that they're mutts, meaning wild, F1, etc. efasciatus with a catch location but also referencing the "turquoise" nickname. In such cases you would have a specific fish. (e.g. TUIC has had some for a while)
But, yes, without getting too topical or political, it's sad what's happening to the locals in some places.
I might add, there's an occasional exception to ambiguous turquoise severums, so it's not a blanket rule that they're mutts, meaning wild, F1, etc. efasciatus with a catch location but also referencing the "turquoise" nickname. In such cases you would have a specific fish. (e.g. TUIC has had some for a while)
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