Scientific Name: Heros severus

Family: Cichlidae

Origin: Northern South America

Care and Handling: "Gold Severums prefer warm(78-82F), soft (<150ppm or <9dgh), acid (PH 6.2-6.8) water. However, they will thrive in a wide range of water conditions including temperature (72-88F), hardness (0-250ppm), and PH (5.0-8.0). They are omniverous and will flourish on a diet high in animal and vegetable proteins including standard cichlid diets, flake feeds, spirulina discs, and any form of live, dried or frozen shrimp."

What to Do Before You Receive: Adjust your tank to within the following parameters: PH between 6.4 and 6.8. Temperature between 74 and 78 degrees F. These values are ideal for our cichlids and especially important to ensure the receiving and acclimation process is successful. Once your new fish are at home in your tank you can let the PH and temperature values fluctuate to within the wider range of values as discussed in the Care and Handling section if you wish. Hardness does not matter as long as you have met the above conditions. Your fish will be shipped in approximately one half gallon of water. Be sure your tank has room for the additional water.

What to Do When You Receive: "Before you open the box, be sure you have prepared your tank as discussed in the previous section and you are ready to introduce new fish to your tank. If you have other fish already in your tank you may want to feed them moderately before starting. 1) Turn all lights out in your tank. 2) Remove bag from the box and float in the tank unopened for 5 minutes. 3) Open top of the bag and add about two cups of the existing tank water. 4) Let the fish acclimate in this mixed water for about 5 minutes. You can clip the top of the bag to the side of the tank with a clothes pin. 5) Add two cups tank water to the bag every five minutes until the bag is almost full. Then you may release the fish into the tank. 6) After about another 15 minutes you can turn your tank lights back on if needed."

Size of Fish: 2 to 3 inches