# Green Severums Mating



## blonpunk88 (Mar 22, 2010)

My green severums started their little mating ritual a couple days ago and the female's belly is pretty round and her breeding tube is out a little. Are those possibly the eggs and she's going to lay them soon?


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

Id say she'll lay them quite soon if her breeding tube is out.


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## blonpunk88 (Mar 22, 2010)

Well nothing has happened since i first posted this thread..yet their still digging up the gravel. They havn't done this in a LONG time so its not something they usually do. The female still looks kinda rounded around her belly but her breeding tube isn't all the way out,though it is poking down some.
Also she's not really slapping the male with her tail, she kinda just...shakes her whole body sometimes...So am i going to have baby's? or am i out of luck?

The water quality should be good, not sure how often i should be changing it if i want them to mate. The ph is really high, which i'm hoping thats not whats keeping them from doing anything, its 7.6 atm since I have a malawi cichild in there and a jack dempsey atm. The water temp is 78-80 F.

Does it just take a while for her to actually lay the eggs? or is she supposed to lay them soon after they start doing their courtship?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

She won't lay until she's happy with the spawning site, got it all the way clean. After that, I would expect it after the next thunderstorm. In fact, do a large water change during the next storm and she will likely lay the next day. Doubt you will get any live fry with so many tank mates, even if the eggs manage to hatch in hard water, something will manage to eat them. If you want the sevs to raise fry, you need to give them their own tank. If you want to raise the eggs, you need another tank. See the trend, breeding fish = more tanks.


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## blonpunk88 (Mar 22, 2010)

like a literal thunderstorm?? lol
Also i'm not sure what the GH of the water is, but does a higher PH usually come with a higher GH?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Usually high gH and pH go together, not always, though. So its worth it to test both. Yes, a literal storm. The fish sense the low-pressure. I guessing rain means lots of baby food in the amazon. Sounds silly, but I see it in angels and other cichlids all the time.


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## blonpunk88 (Mar 22, 2010)

Funny cause theres a thunderstorm going on right now =P I guess I should change the water tomorrow! lol

I also tryed to check the GH with my kit, and I'm either doing it wrong, or its not working correctly becuase i put about 17 drops in my vile and it still wasn't green...each drop till water is green means a degree of dGH (17.9 ppmGH) so that would mean its around 17+ degrees..and i doubt my mbuna cichlid would be fine if it was really that high


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

mbuna love hard water, they will thrive in 'off the scale' gH. The dempsey will be fine, too. I've surprised the sevs are happy and breeding in hard water, but cichlids are pretty adaptable. Test you tap water also and maybe some bottled water to test your kit, they can go bad. But water in a tank where evaporation is topped off will just get harder and harder. And some rocks and substrate makes water harder.


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

She could take weeks to find the exact right place to spawn, best to just leave her to it and she will soon lay those eggs. Make sure your temperature is good too, this could make her spawn sooner, around 80-82 degrees is good.


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