A turquoise severum is a green severum with more blue in it. The blue sits as a wash on the face and flanks and as an edge on the fins. The color swings from green to blue to red with light and mood, so a shop photo is a guide, not a promise. Juveniles show little of it, and the blue builds as the fish matures. Imperial Tropicals breeds a line selected for the blue and sells wild Peruvian fish under the same name. It grows, eats and spawns like the green, so keep it the same way.
In the wild
The turquoise severum began as the Peruvian wild fish, described in 1855 as Heros appendiculatus and redescribed by Kullander in 1986 from Peruvian material. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes now lists that name as a synonym of Heros efasciatus. Those fish come from the Ucayali and the upper Amazon in Peru. Most turquoise severums in shops today are farm-bred greens picked for a bluer cast, not wild imports. Imperial Tropicals carries both and labels the wild one Turquoise Severum Peru.
Good to know
Turquoise is not a separate trait like gold. The blue is the sheen on a green fish, and farm lines carry more or less of it after decades of mixed breeding. A wild Peruvian fish shows nine bars and, in males, small red spots across the body. The farm fish keeps the nine bars, which separates it from the eight-barred rotkeil. Keepers on the cichlid forums describe farm greens and turquoises as one mixed stock, so the name describes the fish in front of you.
Did you know
For years, turquoise severum meant the Peruvian wild fish and green severum meant the farm-bred one. The two names now describe the shade of one species, and a wild Peru fish can arrive plainer than a farm turquoise.
Weekly picks
Tank mates
Turquoise 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 Turquoise severum a different species from the Severum?
No. A Turquoise severum is a variety of the Severum, Heros efasciatus, and it wants the same tank, water and food as the species.
Is a turquoise severum the same fish as a green severum?
Yes, by today's naming. Turquoise once meant the Peruvian wild fish described as Heros appendiculatus, now a synonym of Heros efasciatus. Most shops use the word for a bluer farm-bred green, and Imperial Tropicals sells both kinds under the name.
Does a turquoise severum need different care from a green?
No. It wants the same 65 gallon (245 liter) tank, 72 to 84°F (22 to 29°C) water and pellet-and-vegetable diet. It digs and guards a spawn the same way. The blue swings with light and mood, so judge the fish over a few days rather than at the shop.
What size tank does a Turquoise severum need?
A Turquoise severum needs at least 65 gal (245 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
How big does a Turquoise severum get?
An adult Turquoise 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)