Naming my SuperRed Severums

[Dan_G_Calgary]

Big fish in my tanks tend to get named. These are planned to be spawners, and baby cloud makers (my wife loves to see the clouds of little babies, gold angels were her favorite, this is the replacement for that), so rightly deserve names.

When I was going to get Gold Severums I was going to name the spawning pair
Goldie and Kurt (Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russel) - Doesn't seem appropriate with the super reds as they are VERY red.

No one here has come with any names yet.. I am trying to work with the redness. Maybe something Scottish. ... McFishy and Mrs. McFishy? haha!

anyway, open to any suggestions, thoughts, input on names. I will try to post some pics tomorrow.

Dan

[Pamelajo]

Lucy and Desi
Yosemite Sam and ?

[Dan_G_Calgary]

Lucy and Dezi! I love that! oh. Is it Desi or Dezi?

Here are a couple pics that the fellow I bought them from took. I'll post new pics later this week.

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae184/Grimblyd/August%2024%202010/SuperRedSeverums1.jpg

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae184/Grimblyd/August%2024%202010/SuperRedSeverums2.jpg

[vince0]

ginger mcfrekkles?

nice fish btw!

[CACAdmin]

Beautiful fish. I vote for Lucy and Desi.

[mdfa.ca]

Gorgeous fish!!!

[Gobies et al]

Beautiful color! I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures of these two.

How about Fred and Ginger?

[Dan_G_Calgary]

hmm. I love all these names!

Currently leaning to Lucy for the female, and Mr. Freckles (variation on Vince's) or Mr. McFreckles for the male

[Pamelajo]

Or Archie Andrews from the comics!
Robert Redford
Richie Cunningham(Ron Howard)
Spencer Tracey

[CACAdmin]

What about Spencer and Kate (Spencer Tracey and Katherine Hepburn)

[Dan_G_Calgary]

I think I am going to put the names to a vote of my daughters and wife! I'll let you know what the winning names are.

[Dan_G_Calgary]

and the jury is in. The names got punted around, and the two following just fell out naturally

I'd like to introduce to you.....

Mr. McFreckles

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae184/Grimblyd/August%2024%202010/Picture006-1.jpg

and his lovely wife... Molly McFreckles!

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae184/Grimblyd/August%2024%202010/Picture009-1.jpg


They were having a bit of adjusting issues. He seem to be bumping and dominating her quite a bit. Perhaps the 50 isn't big enough for them. Also at issue is they spawned the night before they were brought to me, so he may be wondering where the eggs are! Lots of dominant male attitued. Note on her picture that she may have some fin damage that he may be responsible for.

I added a couple 'dither fish'... the only thing that was big enough to not fit in his mouth was my Bolivian rams. I was somewhat concerned for their safety. until i saw them swimming under him recently..

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae184/Grimblyd/August%2024%202010/Picture010-2.jpg


I put that half clay pot in there for her to hide behind, but I am contemplating moving her to the 50 beside, where they can still see each other, but she can have a chance to recover up and get ready to spawn.

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae184/Grimblyd/August%2024%202010/Picture011-3.jpg

I saw her swim out and chat him up a bit today. He started bumping her and nudging right away, so she swam back behind her clay pot..

You big SA cichlid keepers, what do you think? Will seperating them for a bit make things worse or better? Should I move the male out of the tank I want them in, or the female out? Any other thoughts or suggestions that I have missed?

thanks!

Dan

[mdfa.ca]

Dan,

don't know anything about cichlids, but the fish are spectacular! Love their colours and the names.

Margaret.

[CACAdmin]

Beautiful fish. I've never kept cichlids so have no advice to offer. I'll move your thread to the Cichlid section to see if it will catch the eyes of the cichlid folk and help get you some advice

[GaryofMontreal]

Watch them - you don't want to break the pair bond. You have to make sure she doesn't go to a top corner - then, she has to come out. But they will bump and sometimes even nip a little.
They have to get over travel, into new territories and over losing a spawn. They may do some jaw locking before they spawn, but if you separate them, you're almost guaranteed that. I've watched big wild severum at belowwater lock jaws and really wrestle, with no harm done.
The altispinosa aren't really dither fish. You want something very fast and surface oriented that they can run at when you want them to displace aggression, but that they can't catch. There are tons of South American tetras that fit the bill.

[vince0]

i win the naming contest! hoorrah for me!

fyi - maybe look at congo tetras, not really biotope but the colors would offset each other nicely methinks

[Pamelajo]

i win the naming contest! hoorrah for me!

:PleaseHelp:It has gone to his head!:wink::laugh:

[Dan_G_Calgary]

Watch them - you don't want to break the pair bond. You have to make sure she doesn't go to a top corner - then, she has to come out. But they will bump and sometimes even nip a little.
They have to get over travel, into new territories and over losing a spawn. They may do some jaw locking before they spawn, but if you separate them, you're almost guaranteed that. I've watched big wild severum at belowwater lock jaws and really wrestle, with no harm done.
The altispinosa aren't really dither fish. You want something very fast and surface oriented that they can run at when you want them to displace aggression, but that they can't catch. There are tons of South American tetras that fit the bill.


Thanks Gary. I know they aren't much for dither fish, as i had stated, it's all I had that wouldnt' fit in his belly at the time.

In any case, I seperated them tonight as the male MOVED the clay pot (that is a 10 inch tall clay pot by the way) and chased her out of there.
Now, based on your post I am thinking of just putting her right back in quick before he forgets about her... she's just as nervous in the other tank. she's never been in a top corner, just usually behind the pot or behind the sponge filter... might be too late.. hmm. now I have to think.

[CACAdmin]

i win the naming contest! hoorrah for me!
Congrats Vince! It was a contest?!?! I should have tried harder. :wink: :laugh:
:PleaseHelp:It has gone to his head!:wink::laugh:
I think that's because we haven't had Brandy sniffing around the forum lately... so no chance to win a contest here on the forum. (Brandy will be back, never fear).

[Gobies et al]

I didn't breed my severums but the person who bought them from me had them spawn. Mine were in a 90 gal with wood pieces and branches to simulate a deadfall and a scattering of Anubias that she would hide amongst. She kept out of his line of sight most of the time. They would rip chunks out of the leaves of the Anubias, ? stress relieving behaviour. They were about 5" (F) and 7" (M). I had a few Gouramis and Rainbowfish in with them. Eggs didn't stand a chance.

When looking up about red severums I was reading about them being bred in 50 gal tanks, but that seems small to me.

Pictures of my Heros notatus below.

[Dan_G_Calgary]

so I moved her back in after I thought about it for a couple minutes after posting last night. within about 2-3 minutes she was behind the clay pot. he moved in to it too (he had to budge it out of the way first. he's a fast learner) and completely covered her against the inside wall of the pot, like he was snuggling or sheltering her. I know, I know. That isn't what he was doing, it just looked so much like it though, wish I had taken a picture. he looked so protective, staring out at me, with her sheltered between him and the clay pot.

[mdfa.ca]

Dan,

he was probably thinking, that big dry monster isn't getting her again!

[CACAdmin]

Dan,

he was probably thinking, that big dry monster isn't getting her again!
:laugh:

[Dan_G_Calgary]

haha! wish I'd had time to check on them this morning.

I chased him around with the net for a bit just to make things even after I put her back in too. haha!

[bae3]

You can make a tank divider out of plastic 'egg crate' used as diffusers under fluorescent light fixtures in offices. You can get it at building supplies stores in 2' x 4' sheets and cut it to fit. They will even spawn next to it, and the male can fertilize most of the eggs from the other side. The fry can swim through it so both parents can do their parental thing. Or you can just leave the divider in until they are both ready to spawn. The problem now may be that the male is ready but the female needs a bit more time to mature another batch of eggs. Big cichlid fans sometimes cut a hole in the divider big enough for the female but not the male, but your two fish are about the same size.

[GaryofMontreal]

The egg crate is a tried and true trick, but so is the addition of several more hiding places and some fast, silvery dithers in the 2-3 inch range. She needs to regain her strength and then they should be in sync. You have to give her time, and keep him busy til she's ready to spawn or until the hockey season starts.
I expect that once they get into a groove, they won't be a behavioral problem.
He may always move the flowerpots around - that's what they do. The barer the tank, the more likely they are to landscape it.

I have a Benitichromis in my 120 that has established dominance over the five others in there. It's a 4 inch cichlid in a six foot tank, but he has owned half the tank - to the point that all the other fish were living in the other three feet. Yesterday, I bought a new powerhead and put it in.
He is now sharing his turf with others of his species, and happily ignoring fish higher up in the water column. The tank has returned to its bustling self, and my plans to remove the Benitochromis are on hold.
He's an African river cichlid, but your severum are South American river fish. Yours aren't built to be slammed by current, but I've seen film of them in the wild, and there is a strong directional flow in their habitat. I don't know how you're filtering, but there is more and more evidence that a lot of our cichlid behavior difficulties can be moderated or even eliminated by giving them more realistic habitats, including (first) a decent current. In still water with bare tanks, they get bored, and when they get bored, they get aggressive. It may be worth a try to up the current.

[CACAdmin]

How are things going with the pair today, Dan. I she still hiding behind the pot or does she appear less intimidated by his advances?

[Dan_G_Calgary]

dunno. I worked 11 hours yesterday, and started in at 7 this morning. Hoping to get out of here today at a decent time. I'm covering for a lot of people today as the manager is in Europe so I have all his work to do, and it is the start of trading this week.

I'll check tonight.

I too am thinking that the 48 gal just isn't big enough now. And all my tanks are pretty much bare except any junk I have around that I tend to throw in.

Maybe I need to try out this whole aquascaping business!! I am attempting to buy a bigger tank and a whole display stand and set up, so maybe they will be the occupants of it.. will see how it goes.

[vince0]

aquascaping, and "biotoping" IME will get you great results... let me know if you need plants and such!

[CACAdmin]

Here's a little inspiration for you: http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2009.cgi?&op=showpage&name=view-showcase.

[Dan_G_Calgary]

So Molly Mcfreckles came down sick with all the beat down she was taking from Mr. McFreckles. I thought she just had a bit of fin damage and would work it out, but she got ich too. So, upped the temperature, treating tank with melafix. Ich is almost all gone, and I saw her initiate a good old fashioned jaw wrestle with Mr. McFreckles last night! She must be feeling a lot better.

Still probably a week or so away from them spawning. I might move the two Bolivian monkeys (rams) out and put in my red tail goodeids for a bit for some old fashioned dithering. They've been in with a female betta and haven't bothered her at all, so I think they aren't nippers... although, might just move everyone out in preperation for them spawning... hmmmm....

gonna think about it some more.