Photo: Emőke Dénes, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Severum
Heros efasciatus
30 cm
Adult size
300 L
Minimum volume
2
Minimum group
15 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Heros
- Diet
- omnivore
- Social life
- pair
In the wild
Overview
The severum, one of the most popular and widely available cichlids, comes in a wild green form and a golden form. Many people do not realise that it grows quite large (30 cm) and is therefore not suited to every aquarium. Fish in the trade, long sold as Heros severus, mostly belong to this species.
- Scientific name
- Heros efasciatus Heckel, 1840
- Classification
- Cichliformes › Cichlidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
Amazon basin: Solimões and main course of the Amazon, tributaries of the Ucayali (Peru), reported from the Xingu
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It lives in slow rivers, tributaries and floodplain lakes, mainly in deep, calm water among submerged roots and branches, but also in flooded areas and tidal estuaries.
Behaviour
Outside breeding it is fairly calm for a cichlid of its size: a good choice for a tank of large, peaceful South American fish, with no fish small enough to be eaten. A lone fish may become cantankerous with age: the company of its own kind often prevents this. An omnivore, mainly a fruit eater in the wild: dry food, meaty prey and plant matter (peas, spinach, spirulina).
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth