Severum tank mate ideas for 190g.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

toxicfish

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 18, 2005
1,544
4
68
47
Michigan
My tank is Currently stocked with 3 Green Severums, 1 clown loach and 2 striped Rafael catfish. Eventually I plan on having 5 or 6 Severums,10-15 clown loaches and 4-6 silverdollars. I would like to get 1 fish that would be around 12-15”.

Nothing is set in stone exept for the Severums and loaches.

Note: The tank is murked up because I just added the gravel.

86317F32-7443-47C0-B0D8-F3B3D41B3E59.jpeg DC41597B-BA19-4934-966F-F1C9CD1AC221.jpeg
 
5-6 severums, 10-15 clown loaches, and the 6 sd's, that sounds pretty full to me. If you really want the 12-15" fish, I would cut the severums and clown loaches numbers down by half. Not many fish that get that large and will be willing to cohabit with relatively peaceful severums, however. An Oscar would probably be your best bet or a true parrot hoplarchus psittacus.
 
Your proposed stock is already really heavy. Clown loaches eventually grow to massive sizes, as do some species of silver dollars. The Heros themselves are no slouches -- I kept eight large Heros in my 6' 210g and that was still tight quarters when the spawning started and the pair shoved the other 6 fish into the far right corner of the tank.

If you want other cichlids, I'd suggest considering pruning down the numbers of loaches and silver dollars you plan to have, or maybe consider substituting them for smaller species.

As far as cichlids go, Heros are very versatile fish. I have kept them in 150 - 210g tanks with nearly everything -- Hoplarchus, Crenicichla, Geophagus, Andinoacara, Aequidens, Acaronia, Hoplarchus, Hypselecara, Symphysodon, Pterophyllum, Bujurquina, Acarichthys, Herotilapia, Crenicara, Heroina, Krobia, Mesonauta, Laetacara, Uaru, Retroculus, and even Pelmatochromis. There is a reason Heros is my favorite genus. They're compatible with nearly every cichlid I've ever kept, as long as the fish aren't too small or too aggressive, and the tank size is adequate.

I think six Heros, a centerpiece fish like a pike or Hoplarchus psittacus, and some smaller dithers would make for a nice setup.
 
I agree on the clown loaches, though it takes them a while to reach full size. But when healthy, fed well, and kept in a decent size tank and appropriate water they become large, chunky fish in their own right. 15 good sized adults would be a stretch for that tank by themselves imo. I've also had them get pushy with size, not mean exactly, more like the big, dopey kid that throws his weight around if he can get away with it.

I've also found sevs to be versatile fish you can keep with a variety of cichlids, tetras, catfish, plecos, and other types of appropriate size and temperament.
 
Agreed...get half the clowns. Geophagus are another species that's pretty gentle and can get quite large. Will do great with your severums
 
IMHO

6 severums, 6 clown loaches, 2 striped raphael and call it done.

3 severums, 6 clown loaches, 2 striped raphael, 1 flagtail and call it done. You can substite flagtail with Crenicichla sveni or Crenicichla saxatilis.

Understanding that the CLs will be rehomed once keeping nitrates well below 20ppm gets too hard to do everyday.
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com