They have the majestic appearance of discus fish but are significantly less demanding. The red-eyed cichlids, also nicknamed by aquarists as "severus cichlids" or "poor man's discus," are long-known gems of South American aquaristics. What does it take to keep these fascinating, inquisitive giants, how to set up a tank without risking destroyed plants, and what unconventional color variants currently dominate the aquarium world?
Discus are the majestic kings of the Amazon. They do not live alone here. Alongside them, there are many other species of fish, including cichlids, whose total number is not precisely known. It is only estimated. The fish that is equally majestic and brings joy to many keepers is the red-eyed cichlid. Lovers of "suckers" also call it red-eyed cichlid.
Homeland
In the northern part of South America, mainly in the upper Rio Negro and Orinoco basins, but also in Venezuelan lakes that are very rich in plants, this fishgrows to 20 cm or more. In Venezuela, there are also places of further occurrences of the fish, such as Rio Cunaviche and Rio Vichada, where the species "Mojarra" or false discus lives. Fish have also been caught in Rio Casiquiare or Rio Caura. Here they live in white water. Branches and roots in the water serve the fish very well for hiding. The temperature of the usually quite soft and acidic water is often significantly high, around 30°C.
Systematics
It is one of the long-known cichlids in aquaristics, described as early as 1840, and was long classified in the collective genus Cichlasoma. Only in 1983 did Sven KULLANDER return it to the genus Heros. For a long time, it was a monotypic genus. Now more species are known, and there are still disputes about the scientific classification of some of them. It reached Europe in 1909 in Germany (C. SIGGELKOW, Hamburg).
Aquarium Care
The fish are suitable for large, preferably "show" aquariums. While for ordinary small fish, such as livebearers, tetras, or rasboras, we count on one liter of water per one cm of fish length, we count for these cichlids about 300 liters of water per pair. This must be realized even before bringing these fish home. We equip the aquarium with several large stones or roots, coarse sand, and only strong plants – preferably larger species of the genus Anubias. Similarly to other larger cichlids, we must definitively say goodbye to the idea of a "Dutch aquarium". Young fish are initially fed with live food (daphnia, water fleas, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, tubifex), but also with artificial (flakes, pellets) food. Later, as they grow, we increase the size of the food. We try Mysis, Krill, and earthworms.
It is important to adequately address the problem of aquariums with large cichlids, which is primarily efficient filtration. This entails the necessity of regular water changes. The more the fish eat, the more they excrete.
Tank Mates
In aquariums with large cichlids, it is always a problem to choose fish that are suitable for their company. For the bottom area, we choose some of the larger species of catfish, and regular ancistrus will also do a lot of work. Suitable are also calmer species, such as Mesonauta festiva, Satanoperca leucosticta, Acarichthys heckelii, but also angelfish. Central American cichlids are more aggressive, so we prefer not to include them. Significantly smaller species of the genera Thorichthys, Archocentrus and others can literally tyrannize the "severus."
Breeding
Adult fish differ very little from each other; a regular aquarist can best recognize them during spawning. Males have, especially in the head area, more red, have an elongated, slender, and sharply pointed genital papilla, while females have a shorter, thicker, and bluntly ended one. Adult males are usually somewhat larger and more robust. However, this is not a rule. It is best to wait until the pair selects itself from the school. The fish usually spawn on larger stones, which they clean with their mouths beforehand.
The eggs can number up to 1000, and both parents care for them and the hatched fry equally. The parents take the hatched embryos into their mouths for some time (larvophilic mouthbrooders). The beautiful coloration of the fish, especially during the breeding season when green predominates, led Americans to create the nickname "poor man's discus." It is important to provide young fish with enough quality live food so that such large quantities of substantial eaters can be kept without hunger! As the first food, we use artemia nauplii or water fleas; in further breeding, there is no problem. It is better to use flow-through tanks where the fry grow faster.
Images:
- It is interesting that nowadays we are more likely to find various color variants of severus, the most common being these yellow ones.
- In the aquarium, there must be calm, so we only introduce calm and size-appropriate fish.
- Severus are large cichlids that have the ability to observe even during the day outside the aquarium. This is known by keepers of discus, oscars, and other larger cichlids.
- A young individual of the basic color form.
- Sometimes even among young severus, we observe signs of intraspecific aggression, which becomes more pronounced in adults.
- Red is a sellable color; as early as 2005, I presented Heros severus "super rot." Times change; this color variant looks quite similar, and now Singaporeans call Heros severus "red face". It is also somewhat more expensive.
- One of the latest color variants, also created in Singapore, is Heros severus "rich pineapple", meaning "beautiful pineapple."
