i was looking at juvie green severums today at the lfs and they look nothing like mine. when i feed them frozen or live food is the only time there stripes appear. (except for the one at the edge where the tail is, that one is there constantly) mine just arent green like they should be, if they were green sev's. im hoping its just a late bloom and not a mislabel. i have always wanted this severum!
Severum Identification?
- Thread starter BluePockets
- Start date
i was looking at juvie green severums today at the lfs and they look nothing like mine. when i feed them frozen or live food is the only time there stripes appear. (except for the one at the edge where the tail is, that one is there constantly) mine just arent green like they should be, if they were green sev's. im hoping its just a late bloom and not a mislabel. i have always wanted this severum!
I hope so too. I have a male and female now. Someday they will be in their own tank, and then we'll see what happens.
This is where severums are tricky. Domestic, tank-raised green severums are said to be Heros efasciatus, but in actuality they could be a whole mix of things. I've kept efasciatus, notatus, and rotkeil here at my house, and they all interbreed readily. This means that tank-raised fish can be a mix of all three. The only way to know for sure would be to know the lineage of the fish, and that's just not possible with fish that you pick up from LFS most of the time.
Then consider that turquoise severums, Heros appendiculatus, are no longer considered a separate species and have been folded back into the efasciatus group with greens, and you open a new can of worms. IMO, the turquoise fish are different from greens. But (for now) science says they're the same fish.
What you end up with are "green" severums that range from brown to green to blue, with varying characteristics that could include black spots, bars, no bars, dark maroon anal fins, bright red anal fins, orange anal fins, red, orange, or yellow eyes, etc. A "green" severum doesn't necessarily have to be green in color. It can be a wide array of colors. It's just a common name, the same way "gold severum" is a common name for severums that range from white to yellow to bright red.
All juvenile severums that I've raised (efasciatus, notatus, and rotkeil) show a light tan/gray/green body with black vertical bars. This does not change until about 4" when the adult coloration starts to come in. Sometimes the bars will fade and the fish will be solid tan, gray, or green.
Here is a 4" juvenile rotkeil. You can see that the red color starts slowly as red dots just behind the eyes and gills.
Then consider that turquoise severums, Heros appendiculatus, are no longer considered a separate species and have been folded back into the efasciatus group with greens, and you open a new can of worms. IMO, the turquoise fish are different from greens. But (for now) science says they're the same fish.
What you end up with are "green" severums that range from brown to green to blue, with varying characteristics that could include black spots, bars, no bars, dark maroon anal fins, bright red anal fins, orange anal fins, red, orange, or yellow eyes, etc. A "green" severum doesn't necessarily have to be green in color. It can be a wide array of colors. It's just a common name, the same way "gold severum" is a common name for severums that range from white to yellow to bright red.
All juvenile severums that I've raised (efasciatus, notatus, and rotkeil) show a light tan/gray/green body with black vertical bars. This does not change until about 4" when the adult coloration starts to come in. Sometimes the bars will fade and the fish will be solid tan, gray, or green.
Here is a 4" juvenile rotkeil. You can see that the red color starts slowly as red dots just behind the eyes and gills.
Well said Ryan. To make it worse, there's virtually no wild H. efasciatus imports in recent years. Jeff imported one batch a couple of years ago and they looked like rotkeils. I don't think I've seen any wild H. efasciatus that actually resembles tank bred ones.
im confused...i thought turquoise and green were the same fish? so much to take in. im glad i posted, i need to know this. well, the coloration of my sevs go between the color in the picture i posted to a dark brown green. there is very, very, feint blue markings in the fins(except the anal fin) but you really have to look to see the pattern. mine looks nothing like the turquoise i have seen in other lfs, but i never seen or knew that green and turquoise were different either. so from what i understand with everything, i probably have a mislabel?
My guess is that you have a Heros efasciatus or "green" severum, or a late blooming rotkeil. It will be hard to say for sure until the adult coloration comes in more. Enjoy them -- regardless of the label, severums are one of my favorite cichlids. I have four different varieties right now.
Hey frens... i am new at Severum cichild, and i bought 4 green severums and 1 gold severum... With apology.... i really don't care if it is a high class breed or just a common severum.. but if any one knows, which fish food(pellet) is appropriate for my severums... please, let me know some ideas.. i really appreciate your kind act.. Currently, i m feeding my fish with Aquafin pellet and ROC pellet... Thank you >
yea, i love the personality in mine. i was just curious to see what ones i actually had. thanks for all the help! ill post another picture when they get a little bigger.
Any high quality food should be OK. I know everyone has their own favorite. I also recommend the occasional blood worms and also fresh veggies. All of my severums love spinach and zucchini. If you have any plecos in you tank, the veggies are great for them, as well.
Sorry for bumping up this thread, but I think I was wrong when I said "green sevs don't have bars like this". Found this pic on Vin Kutty's site, so apparently they do. And, they can also have orange anal fins.
http://pikecichlid.com/heros.html
http://pikecichlid.com/heros.html
