Eye spotted cichlid - Heros severus

Native to South America , the mouthbrooding eyespot cichlid, golden eyespot cichlid, mouthbrooding eyespot cichlid, or simply eyespot cichlid has been described as Heros severus. A synonym is Cichlasoma severum.

The oval, slightly high-backed mouthbrooding eyespotted cichlid is a territorial cichlid from South America. Heros severus is found in the Orinoco Basin, the Amazon Basin and the upper inlet of the Rio Negro. In its native habitat the eye-spotted cichlid lives over sandy and rocky bottoms. It prefers shoreline areas with root hiding places and riparian vegetation.

The mouthbrooder Eye spotted cichlid is a beautifully drawn ornamental fish. Its base color varies from beige silver to purple golden or bluish gray, but can also be brownish or greenish. On the flanks the eyespotted cichlid has 7 dark transverse bands, which either go over the whole body or extend from the middle of the body to the belly. In juvenile mouthbrooding eyespotted cichlids this pattern is strongly contrasting, in adult Heros severus it becomes more indistinct. However, the rearmost band always remains visible and widens on the caudal peduncle to form the namesake eyespot. The body of the eyespotted cichlid is also covered with many fine spots.

With a final size of up to 28 cm this very large South American cichlid with its pronounced tendency to burrow in the substrate should be kept in a sufficiently dimensioned and well filtered aquarium from 150 cm edge length upwards. The sexes with the eyespotted cichlid cannot be recognized outwardly practically. It is therefore somewhat difficult to find a harmonizing pair, and it is advisable to start with a group of 5-6 fry, so that a suitable pair can be found.

Socialization with peaceful by-fish is possible, but you should make sure that the by-fish are large enough not to be eaten, and that they have the same demands on the aquarium. Snails tend to be left alone.

The mouthbrooder Eye spotted cichlid is a larvophilic mouthbrooder. After laying eggs on a flat rock (clutch size about 200 eggs), the clutch is guarded. Once the larvae have hatched, the parent fish take them into the mouth and let them grow there for about a week. After this time the larvae swim free and are raised with Artemia nauplii.

The aquarium for the mouthbrooding eyespot cichlids needs stone structures, roots and caves, which serve as demarcation of the territory and as visual protection and hiding places. The substrate should be sand or rounded gravel. Since these South American cichlids burrow very heavily, you should choose a rather robust planting or go straight for perch-resistant perching plants such as Anubias.

The filter must be sufficiently dimensioned for the rather large fish and must also reliably eliminate water turbidity caused by the burrowing of the fish. A good water hygiene serves the well-being of the eye spotted cichlids and of course their spawning readiness.

The water values for mouthbrooding eyespot cichlids are ideally at a total hardness of 2-20 °dGH and a pH value of 6.0-7.5. The aquarium temperature should be between 23 and 30 °C.
 
In their habitat mouthbrooding eyespot cichlids feed omnivorously. Also in the aquarium they like to feed frozen food, live food, growth, flakes, tablets and granules for omnivorous aquarium fish and sometimes some soft vegetables.

Our food recommendation: The NatureHolic Cichfeed has a grain size of 1.5 mm and is therefore also suitable for larger fish. The NH Cichfeed is a soft granulate for mainly carnivorous ornamental fish. It has the same consistency as small crustaceans and insect larvae that fish eat naturally, and the soft granules protect the fish mouth from micro-injuries that can be caused by hard feed granules.

The NatureHolic Main Feed is a professional staple feed for all aquarium fish. We supply Hauptfeed in the form of soft granules, which, thanks to its grain size of half a millimeter, can be easily absorbed by small to medium-sized fish. The soft consistency resembles the texture of insect larvae in nature and protects the fish mouth from micro-injuries.

Our plant recommendation: Use for planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend when keeping fish the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.