TankBud

One species · 5 varieties

Severum

Heros efasciatus

Also known as Heros appendiculatus, Peru severum, Peruvian severum

FreshwaterFish

Severum (Heros efasciatus)
Rufus46 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–84°F
22–29°C
pH
6.0–7.5
Adult size
11.8 in
30 cm
Minimum tank
65 gal
245 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Substrate spawner · Hard
Rarity
Rare
Family
Cichlidae
Origin
Brazil

Pick a variety

One setup covers every line on this page: care is the species' care.

Overview

The severum is a tall, deep-bodied cichlid for a large community tank, best kept by someone with a little experience.

Did you know

Severums learn who feeds them. Many swim to the front glass when that person walks in, and they take food from the hand once settled.

Caring for the severum

Give a pair of severums at least 65 gal (245 L), with open water in the middle and sturdy cover along the sides. Use sand or fine gravel, driftwood and a few rocks, and leave room to swim. A severum digs and grazes soft plants, so plant anubias and Java fern or leave the tank bare. Potted or anchored plants last longer.

Run the water soft to neutral, at 72 to 84°F (22 to 29°C) with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Feed quality pellets with blanched vegetables, peas and spirulina, plus frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp.

Severums stay mostly peaceful for their size and are fine alone or in a group. Keep them with calm fish too large to swallow, such as larger tetras, Geophagus and plecos. A bonded pair can hold a tank on its own.

A severum turns territorial around a spawn. Pairs spawn on a cleaned flat surface, and both parents fan the eggs and herd the fry. Breeding them is hard.

Every fish on this page is sold as Heros efasciatus. Green is the wild pattern, sold plain or by locality. Gold is a xanthic line, and red spotted is a gold bred for red. Turquoise is the green with more blue, by farm selection or by Peruvian origin. The rotkeil is the odd one, a red-shouldered fish from Peru with eight bars instead of nine. Hobby specialists treat it as an undescribed species. The true severum, Heros severus, and the Rio Negro spotted severum, Heros notatus, have pages of their own.

All of these lines interbreed, and a rotkeil crossed to a green gives nine-barred red-headed fry that get sold on as rotkeils. Keep one line to a tank if you mean to breed. In a display they mix without trouble, since temper is the species' temper across the board and the rotkeil is the calmest of them.

Good to know

The severum, Heros efasciatus, was described by Heckel in 1840. The wild fish is green to olive with nine dark bars, and the bars fade as it matures. Nearly every severum in the trade is this species, whatever name the price list prints. Shops sell wild and F1 fish under place names such as Colombian green, Rio Tocantins and Peru turquoise. Heros severus, the true severum, is a rarer blackwater fish. The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern.

In the wild

Severums come from the Amazon basin, from Peru and Colombia across Brazil to the lower river. They live in slow, warm water under flooded forest, among roots, fallen branches and leaf litter. The water there is soft and slightly acidic.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

Every variety on this page wants the same water, so one set of picks fits them all. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

Can gold, turquoise and rotkeil severums live together?

Yes. They are one species in different colors and share the same temper. A mixed group works in the 120 gallons (450 liters) the shops ask for a group. They also pair across lines, and the fry muddy the next generation, so keep lines apart if you plan to breed.

What size tank does a severum need?

A severum needs at least 65 gal (245 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a severum need?

A severum is comfortable at 72–84°F (22–29°C) with a pH of 6.0–7.5.

What does a severum eat?

A severum eats quality pellets with blanched vegetables, peas and spirulina. Add frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp as well. It also grazes soft plants in the tank.

How big does a severum get?

An adult severum reaches about 11.8 in (30 cm).

How does a severum breed?

Severum pairs spawn on a cleaned flat surface and turn territorial while they do. Both parents fan the eggs and herd the fry. Breeding them is hard.

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