Severum Head Standing and other symptoms?

[Amelia]

I am unsure whether there is something wrong with my severums or whether it is just what they "do". I have 4 small golden severums in a 4ft 65g tank. They all eat voraciously (bloodworms, cichlid pellets, crushed algae tabs and a constant supply of aquarium plants) and seem to be happy, aside from a few things...

They seem to all have a habit of head standing, or floating with their heads facing the bottom of the tank for short periods of time before resuming usual swimming. The smallest ones seem to do this when the large one approaches almost as a submissive behavior, reminding me of a dog rolling onto it's back.

Also, all four seem to have grey discoloration some places on their bodies. I can't quite tell if it is where scales have been scraped off. I originally thought they were just colored that way but sometimes the grey goes away and come back. I have tried taking photos but it doesn't seem to show up.

The third unusual symptom is that 2 or the severums have a very obvious red vein or line running along the base of their anal fin and caudal fin. They have had this ever since I got them. Should I be worried about it?

Thanks in advance.

[mizzoutank]

how are your parameters?

i know that when i messed with my tank a bit to much...i caused a mini spike in ammonia. this made my cockatoo act weird, swam funny, spiraled, vertical....then he died.

so curious if maybe you have a lil spike? or something along those lines?


speaking of lines...(i didnt plan that transition, i swear.lol) the red line you speak of, that sounds like a disease tho, not an abnormality.

[steeler58]

Do they "headstand" mostly after they eat? I've seen other speices gorge themselves than have trouble swimming for awile after.

I'm no expert on severums but I do alot of reading and Severums do usually have a scattering of small spots on the upper half of the body. I don't think the markings are anything to worry about.

Your third question I don't have an answer for.

Good to see you back on the forum.

[Northerly]

Amelia, I have noticed similar behavior in my severum lately. He didn't start doing it until I added tankmates and he he always does the "headstand" or other weird things right before he pokes at one of the new firemouth I have added. However, he doesn't do it very often. The best I can speculate is that it's some form of display to show territorial aggression? I haven't had aggression issues with him yet besides the odd poke, little dudes are too fast for him anyways:p Best of luck, if I find anything out in regards to our issues I'll certainly let you know.

[Aeonflame]

I have never observed this behavior in my sevs.

[skullduggery1]

Bloodworms are not a safe food to feed to cichlids.They cause bloat and are full of pathogens.Bloodworms are the larval stage of a flying insect.They are often farmed in third world countries with less than sanitary methods.

[Northerly]

Severums tend to benefit greatly from the occasional addition of bloodworms to their diet. At least that's what I've gathered from my research.

[Lab_Rat]

My gold sev used to headstand. Freaked me out at first, but after a while of him having no signs of illness I just chalked it up to him being weird. He would sometimes do flips at the end of the tank. He was weird.

[Lady Hobbs]

Could this be something they do when sleeping? I've had fish do weird things at nap time.

[Gesp56]

My gourami does head stands as well but hers are more like she's searching for food as her feelers constantly feel the gravel when she does her head stands. Sometimes she picks as the gravel as well. Sometimes she just does it and barely moves when shes in the head stand then comes out of it.. I think its just normal behavior.. I mean rapid spirals are definitely not normal but an occasional head stand or flip or a jump out of the water, all seem normal.