Got my first severum!

[Cactuspixie]

Yay! He is such a little cutie! He's a 4cm green severum I've had on order for a while now.

I'm already having problems

Two of the 5 blue eyes I got recently have paired up and claimed the whole tank- including every cave, breeding log and crevice in it!

My new sev is much smaller and is being bullied

I fed the tank fresh blackworms and frozen bloodworms hoping to make them fat and lazy before I released the new guy. Didn't work. The longer he is in there, the more relentless those blue eyes are becoming! The perpetrators are easily identified by the positively evil look they have developed now that they're breeding.

I also have a gold severum on order, and I'm wondering whether I should rehome the 5 blue eyes ASAP? They are terrific little fish, but I got the 5 for $5 on impulse at auction whereas my baby sevs are $18-$22 each.

If I get rid of the blue eyes, will the 2 brasiliensis become bratty toward the sevs?
It will be an unusual 6' tank if it only has 2x 4cm sevs and some kuhli loaches and bristlenose. Lol.

Thoughts? Advice? Please!

 

[Cactuspixie]

It got worse so I tore the tank apart to catch the two culprits. They're sitting in a bucket while I decide what to do with them.
Edited to add: while I was taking stuff out of the tank to catch them, they began attacking my female OS bristlenose, and now her tail fin is torn up

 

[mikem691]

I dont know anything about the blue eyes but the brasiliensis should be fine if the tank is large enough. I have A. Heckelii's with severums and small geophagus tapajos also i think keyholes and chocolate's go well with them. Im sure if im wrong on the keyholes or chocolate's some one will let you know.

 

[Cactuspixie]

I dont know anything about the blue eyes but the brasiliensis should be fine if the tank is large enough. I have A. Heckelii's with severums and small geophagus tapajos also i think keyholes and chocolate's go well with them. Im sure if im wrong on the keyholes or chocolate's some one will let you know.

This was what I dreaded and why I've never kept cichlids before. The only other cichlid I'm game to put in there now is the gold sev when it comes in. The two blue eyes can stay in the **** bucket for a couple of days while I wait and see if the others settle down or start bullying too. I'll get rid of the lot of them in that case. I'd rather just have just two tiny cichlids in a 170g peaceful tank than deal with all the stress of the agro that those guys are causing.
Please tell me that when I get my 2nd sev they won't chase and nip at each other?!

 

[mikem691]

My red spotted golds do chase each other a little and the larger one will nip a tail once in a while but nothing major. The geos should be fine with them they seem to chase their own and ignore others. But they are cichlids so they will have their own personality. you could do different severums and a few rare plecos.

 

[Cactuspixie]

I've already got bristlenose in there- peppermint, calico and orange spot. There are 2 tiny tiger plecs in there also. And a dozen kuhlis. And two bumble bee gobies (one of which USED to rule the tank).
Things seem to have settled down a little, but I realize that may be a short lived result of removing the dominant pair and rearranging the tank.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Wow, how do your gobies not get eaten? I kept a group for a while and they were tiny!

 

[Cactuspixie]

Wow, how do your gobies not get eaten? I kept a group for a while and they were tiny!

Hehe.. They were there first, and do those little guys have ATTITUDE! Like nightclub bouncers.
Well they WERE. Now they cruise around staying out of trouble. Being the brightest (in more ways than one) fish in the tank, as well as the tiniest, you really would think they'd be likely targets, but maybe its the 'tude' and the grouchy expression that saves them!

 

[Scottyhorse]

hehe.. I could see that

 

[mikem691]

Remember that the severums will grow to 8 to 10" and the brasiliensis 11 to 12" so the kuhlis and gobies will most likely be seen as snacks sooner or later. if they can catch them,

 

[Cactuspixie]

Remember that the severums will grow to 8 to 10" and the brasiliensis 11 to 12" so the kuhlis and gobies will most likely be seen as snacks sooner or later. if they can catch them,

Would the sevs eat them if they have grown up with them?

The brasiliensis were impulse 'pity purchases' lol. So if they have to go at some point, then so be it.

My blue eyes must just be psycho, coz this link describes a whole other personality ...
http://aquafind.com/articles/Blue-Eyes.php

 

[Fett999]

Growing up together is not a guarantee that they will be ok when they get bigger I'm afraid.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Growing up together is not a guarantee that they will be ok when they get bigger I'm afraid.

I'm trying to find out what BB goby's lifespan is. I haven't found that out yet, but I have discovered that the 2 gobies in that tank are a different species to the one I have in my 3' tank.
There was I thinking these two were just a pair of ill-bred specimens, when in fact my pretty one is actually a brachygobius doriae while its less attractive cousins are brachygobius sabanus.

 

[Fett999]

They can live for 5-8 years

 

[Cactuspixie]

They can live for 5-8 years

Well in that case, they'll have to join the other one in the 3' when the time comes. That's going to be come-down for them after having prowled the length and breadth of a 6' tank for so long!
That's not a bad lifespan for such an itty bitty fish!
Thankyou for that

 

[Cactuspixie]

Well I haven't even had him 24 hours, and even with 6 tanks of fish to choose from, this little guy is my new favourite. He is cute as a button and so graceful!