Severum Biotope?

[fishfanatic80]

yes you don't have to use pvc but a lot of people like to use the clear pipe so you can see your knife fish often because they are a nocturnal species you most likely won't see them too often if your using other forms of a hide for them. I do completely agree with your setup being more natural and it would take away from that. You can use driftwood or rocks to use as caves but just make sure it's elongated like a tunnel to accommodate the long slender species. A buddy of mine actually built up a cave around the pvc using extra sand and rocks, it looked pretty nice. Rainbows are an alternative to tetras if you don't want to go that route, I've personally used tetras in my set up and the severum was fine. Keep them well fed and happy and there's no reason for them to go on the hunt. Another option which I thought looked really nice were a group of twin bar platys they have a more natural look then the others and it went well with the aquarium

 

[cichlidfish]

yes you don't have to use pvc but a lot of people like to use the clear pipe so you can see your knife fish often because they are a nocturnal species you most likely won't see them too often if your using other forms of a hide for them. I do completely agree with your setup being more natural and it would take away from that. You can use driftwood or rocks to use as caves but just make sure it's elongated like a tunnel to accommodate the long slender species. A buddy of mine actually built up a cave around the pvc using extra sand and rocks, it looked pretty nice. Rainbows are an alternative to tetras if you don't want to go that route, I've personally used tetras in my set up and the severum was fine. Keep them well fed and happy and there's no reason for them to go on the hunt. Another option which I thought looked really nice were a group of twin bar platys they have a more natural look then the others and it went well with the aquarium

I think the rainbows may work if a decent size, but platties will become knife fish meals.

 

[neutrino]

Strict, true to a specific location, biotope would take some research and Heiko is a good one for that kind of information, but sounds like you mean in more of a general way of what would work together.

You can also keep a group of severums in that size tank, either group of single type, which I've done myself, or combination of types. A number of geo species work well with sevs ime and complement each other in shape, color, behavior, etc. Also several acara types can work. In the wild, species seen with heros can include geos, mesonauta, discus, angels, some pike species, various catfish and some others.

 

[Adoinc]

I intended the tank to be strict as far as I want the fish to come from Peru and inhabit the same types of waters but it doesn't have to be 100%. tbh I thought the platy thing was a joke because I thought I mentioned that but I guess not lol.
The tank isn't going to have any substrate plants and only have sand, quite a bit of bogwood some small stones, and floating plants.
The current will be moderate so I should be able to keep the angels and the bgk happy because that's a happy medium for both of them.
I did find a website that I have found loads of different species on it and I can use that for a lot of research but I'm appreciative for the help. I'll look into keyholes and festivums more because those seem nice and fit the bill as far as my guidelines so far. Idk how I feel with loads of different cichlids in the tank though. I might just go with silver dollars, but I've heard those can nip from time to time. I could solve that with a big school though, hopefully.


How does this stock sound?

3x l204
1x bgk
8x angelfish
1x Sev
13x Silver Dollars (I like schoolers in odd numbers )

Or I could just add a lot more angels but that might be pushing it, ex:
3x l204
1x bgk
1x sev
12-14: angels

P.S. I really love the look of Cockatoo cichlids and I was wondering if I grew them up w/ the bgk if they would be eaten. They seem to be a bit larger than all tetras and have an attitude to them so I think they'd be alright but idk

Website mentioned: http://fish.mongabay.com/data/Peru.htm