Tropical Fish Keeping banner

Severums and Bichirs and Bush Fish, Oh My!

6K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  tophat665 
#1 ·
I have just been offered a pair of "Large Gold Severums", gratis. I am assuming that they are 6 to 9" from that. The only tank I have that will fit them is a 110 extra high that currently houses:

A 12" long Senegal Bichir (Polyterus senagalus)
A 9" long Albino Senegal Bichir
3 Leopard Bushfish (Ctenopoma acutirostre) each between 5 and 6"
1 Albino Ancistrus (3 or 4")
1 Golfball sized Mystery snail (Pushing the outer limits of the lifespan).
and whatever livebearers or killies or shrimp I have thrown in recently for snacking.

This tank is HEAVILY planted. There is NO open substrate, and all rocks and wood are entirely covered by epiphytes.

This is the tank in question.

Am I cooking up a recipe for disaster adding a pair of big Severums to this cocktail?
If so, what, if anything could I change to prevent it?

I'd really like to get some fish in this tank that I see most of the time. Right now, I only see the bushfish when I feed them, and the big bichir comes out and watches TV (seriously - he watched Star Trek with us), but most of the time, all you see is plants.

Let me know, please.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
I think you should be fine. What are the dimmensions of the tank? In a 110 gallon your fish should be alright. Sev's aren't hyper aggressive during spawning and you don't seem to be all that much stocked. The bichirs are big but they will stay at the bootom for the most part. And like you said the leopard fish will hide in the foilage.

I say go for it you should be alright.
 
#3 ·
Its 48x18x31 - like a 75 but tall enough I have to stand on a stool to reach the bottom (and I'm over 6'). That's rrcoolj, that was my original thinking; I just wanted to double-check with the brain trust.
 
#6 ·
That's a beautiful tank you have there Tophat.

Keep us updated on how it goes. I'm interested to see how it turns out between the sevs and the 3 bushfish.

Funny you mention your bichir watching tv. I used to have a pair of angels that I swore were doing the same thing.
 
#9 ·
I'm interested in hearing how it turns out. If the "large" severums are the same size or smaller than the bushfish things should go pretty smoothly, hopefully. If they're larger...well, luckily the tank is so heavily planted! Not that the severums will definitely go after the bushfish, but you never really know when a cichlid is going to assume some other fish is also a cichlid.
 
#10 ·
Well, the guy I was getting them from brought them home, and his non-fish-keeping wife fell in love with them, so this is probably a dead letter. While I am not 100% thrilled, I have got to give way to marital harmony. Sometimes in tank compatibility is less important than what goes on in the rest of the house.

Sometimes.

IMNBM, I was interested too. I think Severums are the only Cichlid I would even attempt in this tank. Any others would have aggression, size, or fin nipped problems.

Since the sale of the 120 fell through, it's looking like I am going to have to build the stand for that this spring and get that one running soon.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top