Severum won't eat.     6/1/12
“Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn’t so.” – Ronald Reagan
<As with so much else in politics, this bon mot means remarkably little when you analyse it. Is it saying that because someone is an expert in something, they're also unqualified to hold an opinion on how their country is governed? Ronald Reagan was a fine man in many ways, but just because he wasn't an intellectual doesn't automatically mean he was a genius or a prophet. It really would be nice if both Liberals and Conservatives accepted that both sides have useful ideas and both have stupid ones. If history has taught as anything, it's that no single ideology works completely in every sense or for every person in the land. Sometimes the conservatives are right, and sometimes the liberals are right, and sometimes they're both wrong and we haven't figured out what we need to do to fix some problem (like how to enjoy economic growth across the globe without wrecking the planet's environment).>
Hi, I have a Severum that's about 4-5 inches.  I don't know how old or what its life was like before I rescued it.
<At that size, likely 1-2 years, unless he's stunted a bit, in which case could be older.>
I am keeping it in a 15 gallon hospital tank.
<Too small.>
Nitrates 10ppm, nitrites 0, hardness GH 75, Chlorine 0, Alkalinity 20 and Ph 6.8.
<Fine.>
I use ro water and  change every other day 30%.
<Do need to mix this RO water with something that has hardness; a 50/50 mix of tap water and RO rainwater usually produces something ideal for tropical fish.>
The problem is, she has HLLE and what seems to be fin rot.
<Environmental, perhaps compounded with diet. Severums are sensitive to small tanks, low oxygen, high nitrate levels, and diets that lack fresh greens (they're mostly herbivores in the wild).>
I have had her about a month, trying to clear up hlle with clean water and good diet, but she just won't eat, so I'm now on day 5 of Metro+, no carbon.
<Right.>
I have tried everything.  pellets, krill, algae wafers, all soaked in garlic, flakes, earth worms, black worms, blood worms, live feeders (i know this is not good but just trying to stimulate her appetite), ghost shrimp, zucchini, lettuce, crickets, peas, seriously, I can't think of anything else.
<Don't force it. With cichlids, appetite returns with health. Adding food that goes onto the bottom of the tank is merely aggravating water chemistry. If the fish isn't hungry, then something is STILL wrong with it.>
She must be eating a small amount of the New Life Spectrum because her poop is the same color as the food. The HLLE doesn't seem to be getting any better nor any worse, but I can't imagine her lasting much longer if she doesn't start eating.
<That may well be the case. Force-feeding fish is possible, but difficult. I wouldn't try with a fish unless it was seriously underweight. Write back if you want some tips. But if the fish is basically sound in terms of weight, I'd focus on treating the Hexamita infection.>
I have two other Sevs in a 72 gallon that are loving life, very healthy and happy. I was hoping I could save this one.  I understand that calcium deficiency may cause HLLE.
<I don't believe this is the case.>
How can I add calcium to her water without raising the hardness?
<You can't. In any event, calcium comes from the food; there's little/no evidence fish absorb minerals from the water. Do bear in mind Heros spp mostly come from very nutrient poor rivers, so in the wild wouldn't be exposed to high calcium levels anyway.>
What about adding aquarium salt?
<Severums tolerate slight salinity well -- at least some Heros species are found in slightly brackish streams -- but routine addition of salt isn't something I'd recommend normally. Adding a little might be beneficial if this fish is struggling a bit, but don't add too much, 1-2 grammes/litre.>
is this something I should consider? any suggestion would be greatly appreciated, as I've run out of ideas. Thanks Lori
<Hope this helps, Neale.>

Severum with Eating Disorder  8/30/05 Hi guys, I'd really appreciate some opinions here. I have a 6" male green Severum (appendiculatus) that has a slightly inflamed/swollen anus. I've had him almost 2 years in a 75 with 3 other similar sized cichlids (gold sev, blood parrot, Paratilapia small spot). My water parameters are stable, ph out of the tap at 7.4 and no trace of amm/nitrite (the tank is well filtered with 2 Fluval 404's and a couple FBFs, plus a powerhead w/ filter). The Severum is acting healthy in every way, except he seems to periodically go through bouts of what I would liken to trying to clear his throat which can last a couple of minutes. I thought he might have had a blockage and actually netted him a few months back with tweezers ready, but upon shining a light down his throat I couldn't see anything odd. So basically he is just as hungry and active, but has a puffy anus and this periodic coughing thing. His feces appear not to have changed, but they will sometimes take longer for him to pass like he might be constipated. All the other fish are fine. I feed twice per day. The green Severum gets a 1cm cube of dried Tubifex worms in the morning, and 1-2 Hikari gold pellets at night. I also feed thawed uncooked shrimp once per week, and some worms from my worm farm once per week. I feed parboiled lettuce 1-2 month. Please let me know what you think the problem might be, whether it could be diet related (should I pre-soak the pellets?) or if there's a bacterial problem. I haven't seen any small red worms around the anus, so I don't think it's Camallanus. I have tried feeding Spirulina based pellets to try and get him more greens, but he didn't like them. He also isn't really interested in the vegetables I've tried (spinach, peas, zucchini). Lettuce is the only thing he'll go for, and even then not very enthusiastically. < When your fish was young it required more protein. Now that it is older it doesn't need as much protein and actually requires more fiber (vegetable matter) in its diet. The prolapsed anus can be taken care of with smaller feedings and switching the diet to something with more vegetable matter. The throat thing is the pharyngeal jaws chewing hard foods such as shrimp exoskeleton and hard pellets. Smaller pellets or prehydrating them may help, it is worth a try.-Chuck> Anyway, I really appreciate your help. This fish is virtually perfect, and I'd hate to lose him. Please let me know if you need more info. Thank you for your time, Corey Cormier

Gold Severum Not Eating    2/17/06 Hello, I have a large Golden Severum in a 55 gallon tank with a Smaller Green Severum and a few other fish, 5 other fish to be exact. My Golden has stopped eating and his fins are a bit clamped, but shows no other sign of stress. All the other fish are fine and seem to be getting along well. The only thing I did notice is that the Green Severums markings have become much more pronounced. This has been going on for about a week now, and I am becoming a bit worried about his health. Once again he does not look to be "sick" just not eating. One more thing, I have tested the water, and done a partial water change, but there doesn't seem to be any water quality problems. Thank you Guy Clemency < I think your gold Severum has been sick for a week and the smaller Severum is becoming more dominant as the larger one has become sicker. Not eating and clamped fins are not good. I would recommend isolating the fish in a hospital tank and treating with a combination of Metronidazole for internal infections, and Nitrofuranace for external infections. Follow the instructions on the packages.-Chuck>