Severum Cichlid In Community Tanks?

[NewToFish1989]

So I got into a heated debate with a guy I know who deals with fish and saw he had a imported Severum Cichlid in stock and I remember my mum and dad keeping one of these successfully in a community tank about 6 years ago.

I told him about this and he looked at me funny and said no Cichlid should be in a community aquarium, I argued they can be IF you provide them the room as my parents was in a 300 litre tank with 3 angel fish and kept himself to his self for the most part.

I know there are ALWAYS mixed opinions about what fish can be successfully kept with others and those opinions will always exist, so for anyone who keeps Severums, have you kept them in community tanks successfully or not?

 

[hennaartist]

They can be kept in a community tank as long as it is "understocked" and the other fish are not too small.

 

[toddnbecka]

I have a good-size pair of super red severums in a 220 with a variety of other fish. Several yellow Lab's, a few odd smaller SA cichlids, several black skirt tetras, 10 silver dollars, a Synodontis eupterus, handful of polka-dot loaches, zebra knife fish, couple of whiptail cats and a few BN pleco's.
Cichlids in general tend to ignore other types of fish aside from territorial issues, and that's mainly when they're breeding.

 

[Jmunroe]

Severums aren't very aggressive. And angel fish being cichlids themselves are more able to take care of themselves then people tend to give them credit for. 300 litres is small for the stocking your parents had. Of course with all cichlids and putting them together it's always hit and miss and depends on the temperament of the individual fish involved.