Severum
Heros severus · family Cichlidae
Also: Banded Cichlid
Parameters
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C
- pH
- 5.5–7
- Hardness
- 3–12 °dGH
- Tank volume
- from 250 L
- Maximum size
- up to 20 cm
- Group size
- min 1, ideal 2
- Temperament
- Semi-aggressive
- Swimming zone
- Middle
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Lifespan
- 10–15 years
Description
Severum is a mid-large South American cichlid. Calm by cichlid standards; selective breeding gave us golden and red-pearl strains.
Care
Tank 250+ L, driftwood, large rocks, soft water. Won't trash plants like aggressive cichlids do.
Feeding
Omnivore: large pellets, shrimp, bloodworm, zucchini/cucumber slices. Once daily in winter, twice in summer.
Compatibility
Compatibility data not yet available.
FAQ
- Are severums aggressive?
- Less aggressive than most cichlids. But during spawning they fiercely defend their fry and may injure tankmates. Best kept as a pair or solo.
Goldie editorial team
Practising aquarists with a combined 30+ years of experience · Biologists and editors, fact-checking against FishBase and Seriously Fish · Every piece is reviewed by a qualified ichthyologist before publication
Scientific board — ichthyologists and veterinarians
Ichthyologists and veterinarians with university degrees · Reference FishBase, Seriously Fish and peer-reviewed literature · Sign every reviewed article with their credentials shown
Sources
- Wikipedia: Heros severus · Wikipedia · 2026-05-22