A green severum is the wild pattern, an olive to green fish with nine dark bars that fade as it grows. Shops sell it as green severum, or by locality as Colombian green, Rio Tocantins or Peru. Settled adults show blue-green iridescence, red flecks on the face and orange in the fins. Juveniles and newly shipped fish look gray, and the color comes with age and a settled tank. It is the fish every other line on this page was bred from, and care is the species' care.
In the wild
Green is the wild pattern and swims across the Amazon basin, from the upper rivers of Peru and Colombia to the Tocantins in Brazil. Nearly every green in a shop is farm raised, from stock bred in tanks for decades and mixed along the way. Wild and F1 fish reach the trade under a collection locality. Imperial Tropicals sells a Colombian green from the upper Rio Negro and a Rio Tocantins fish, and Aqua Imports a green from near Leticia.
Good to know
The green carries no color mutation, so it is the baseline the gold, red spotted and turquoise lines are measured against. Nine bars run from the eye to the tail base. The last sits on a dark blotch near the tail that the bred lines lose. A green crossed to a gold gives green-looking fry that carry the gold trait. Farm greens have been mixed with other Heros stock for decades. Keepers on the cichlid forums treat them as a blend rather than a pure efasciatus.
Did you know
Banded cichlid, the old book name for severums, describes the green: a juvenile wears its nine bars like a convict cichlid. The bars fade so far in adults that a settled green looks like a plain olive fish. They snap back the moment it flares at a rival.
Weekly picks
Tank mates
Green severum is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.
Is a Green severum a different species from the Severum?
No. A Green severum is a variety of the Severum, Heros efasciatus, and it wants the same tank, water and food as the species.
Is a green severum the same as a plain severum?
Yes. Green is the wild pattern, and a shop that sells a severum with no color in the name is selling a green. Imperial Tropicals and Aqua Imports sell wild and F1 fish by locality, and farm-raised greens come through the same wholesalers as the gold.
Why is my green severum gray with no bars?
Stress and age. A juvenile and a fish just out of the bag look gray, and a settled adult drops its bars for long stretches. Soft, acidic water, dim light and a few calm weeks bring the green and the red flecks on the face back.
What size tank does a Green severum need?
A Green severum needs at least 65 gal (245 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
How big does a Green severum get?
An adult Green severum reaches about 11.8 in (30 cm).
11.8 in (30 cm)119 gal (450 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
11.8 in (30 cm)58 gal (220 L)72–84°F (22–29°C)
7.9 in (20 cm)106 gal (400 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
7.9 in (20 cm)75 gal (285 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)
11.8 in (30 cm)119 gal (450 L)77–86°F (25–30°C)
11.8 in (30 cm)74 gal (280 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)