Severum overeating?

[Fish_on_the_Brain24]

I have kept Severum before, but never one quite like this. I swear all this thing does is eat and it is to the point this fish looks like it might explode. IT NEVER STOPS EATING!
It is a Green/Gold Severum cross about 4" long. It lives in a 150 gal tank with some Angels, a Bristlenose and his two baby mamas, as well as Red Hump Geophagus and a BGKF.
No new fish have been added for 5 months, so I do not believe it is parasites or disease related.

I only feed once daily, I hand feed to try to keep the Severum from getting the Lion's share. He eats on my Amazon frogbit and Salvinia Minima ALL DAY LONG. He steals the Rapashi Soilent Green that the plecos eat. His diet includes blood-worms, Cichlid Bug bites, Cichlid pellets and some high quality flake. (Not all in the same feeding, I rotate it day to day).

Water Parameters are: PH: 6.8
Nitrates: 10ppm
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Temp: 79 F

Is my fish just a Glutton or am I missing something more serious? Please help Tina, my fat lard!

 

[tlindsey]

I have kept Severum before, but never one quite like this. I swear all this thing does is eat and it is to the point this fish looks like it might explode. IT NEVER STOPS EATING!
It is a Green/Gold Severum cross about 4" long. It lives in a 150 gal tank with some Angels, a Bristlenose and his two baby mamas, as well as Red Hump Geophagus and a BGKF.
No new fish have been added for 5 months, so I do not believe it is parasites or disease related.

I only feed once daily, I hand feed to try to keep the Severum from getting the Lion's share. He eats on my Amazon frogbit and Salvinia Minima ALL DAY LONG. He steals the Rapashi Soilent Green that the plecos eat. His diet includes blood-worms, Cichlid Bug bites, Cichlid pellets and some high quality flake. (Not all in the same feeding, I rotate it day to day).

Water Parameters are: PH: 6.8
Nitrates: 10ppm
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Temp: 79 F

Is my fish just a Glutton or am I missing something more serious? Please help Tina, my fat lard!

It is just a Severum with a big appetite lol.

 

[kno4te]

It is just a Severum with a big appetite lol.

+1.

 

[TwoHedWlf]

I have kept Severum before, but never one quite like this. I swear all this thing does is eat and it is to the point this fish looks like it might explode. IT NEVER STOPS EATING!

Soo...What you're saying is it's a severum and it eats like a severum? I don't think there's a problem here.

 

[Fish_on_the_Brain24]

I have had Rotkiel and Turquoise Severums in the past, they did not eat like this thing does. This is like the Labrador retriever of the fish world, eat and eat and eat until you puke and then eat some more. Guess I won't worry about him then unless he bursts at the seam.

 

[esoxlucius]

A lot of fish eat like that, it's hardwired into them, feast or famine in the wild etc. You and you alone are in complete control of your sevs diet. If it looks like a football stop feeding it so much, throw a couple of fasting days in. Further down the line it could die prematurely of fatty liver disease.

How much do you love your severum? Your call.

 

[duanes]

A lot of fish eat like that, it's hardwired into them, feast or famine in the wild etc. You and you alone are in complete control of your sevs diet. If it looks like a football stop feeding it so much, throw a couple of fasting days in. Further down the line it could die prematurely of fatty liver disease.

How much do you love your severum? Your call.

I agree with this, many species live in a feast or famine world in nature, so when food is there, they instinctually take advantage.
I do not feed my tanks every day, sometimes only every other day (or less) just for that reason (all my fish are wild, and glutoness so if I let them, they don't stop eating, At certain times (seasons) food in nature is almost nonexistant) so as said above, hardwired to gorge when its available.
It could be that those fish raised for many generations in aquariums, like angels are so domesticated, they have lost or somewhat lost that instinct.
If it were me ,I'd give the Sev a separate tank, and feed less.

 

[neutrino]

I understand what some are saying, a lot of fish will eat about as much as you want to feed them-- but not always ime, years ago when I was newer at fish and fed more, I'd see them slow down and lose interest at a certain point.

That aside, you can get an individual that way overeats in a tank that isn't overfed. It's the behavior or temperament of that individual fish; other fish can be picky eaters, slow eaters, shy eaters, some go nuts on certain foods but not on others... As far as wild instincts, there's not a single instinctual feeding strategy for all fish, since some in the wild are grazers that constantly pick here and there, others eat only at certain times of day, some gulp down a big meal then go back to their lair and lay low for a few days, some gorge only during certain times of year, like spawning season, or only when certain foods are present or abundant.

You probably just have one of those-- greedy individuals. Not normally caused by disease but it can cause disease, and long term will almost certainly cause health issues that can be life shortening. Personally, I learned t's important to take steps to fix it when I get one like that-- a valuable lesson!

If I can't fix it by adjusting things in the main tank, feeding less, smaller pellets, feeding something they like a little less, removing plants if they're getting fat on them (possibly replaced with something tougher and less appealing), then I separate the fish to another tank and tightly limit its feeding until it slims way down. I found that sometimes a time or two (or three) of doing this changed the fish's behavior and they stopped the overeating. Some fish it was just something I had to do periodically-- or I permanently moved them to a different tank. Sometimes adding a more dominant fish (or species) to their tank or keeping them in a different tank with a different mix of fish did the trick.