Thanks as always for refining my answers ;o) Did you know that
Firemouths are listed as originating in Asia: Mekong basin in Laos,
Yunnan, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam; Southeast Asia, and were later
re-distributed (from fishindex.com). Fishprofile.com has them listed as
Central American (Yucatan, 6.5 pH) which probably agrees with articles
I've read from Belize Mexico on the 2 species found there.

I have a tendency to mix fish by temperament, rather than by bio-tope,
only keeping an eye towards not mixing water extremes. This is evident
in some of my suggestions. I suspect they would be hardy in 6.3pH but I
have no acidic-water/Firemouth experience either.

NetMax

"Mephistopheles" wrote in
message hlink.net...
Steve,
NetMax gives his usual excellent advice, but I must differ a bit
regarding the firemouth recommendation. Firemouths are Central
American
cichlids, not South American, so they are really not what you are
looking
for. I also expect they might have a bit of difficulty with your very
acidic water, though I have no personal experience dealing with water
that acidic.

Meph

"Steve" wrote in
et:

NetMax,
Thanks for the input.
You mentioned Firemouth. I really like them and they are readily
available here but thought they would be too aggressive for Severums.
If I'm wrong that would be good news. I like both the Festivum and
Flag but can'tfind them locally.
Steve

"NetMax" wrote in message
.. .

"Steve" wrote in message
t...
I am going with some So. American Cichlids and have narrowed it
down to 3 different species

Gold Severum
Green Severum
Blue Acara
Geophagus

I think that's a nice mix of medium-large fish with similar
dispositions. I've never had Blue Acara, but I've had Aequidens
tetrameris which I think are similar to the Blue Acara. There are
many Geophagus, with jurupari being the most common around here.

I would like to some input from the group as to if this would be a
good match, i.e. get along reasonably well, offer some variety,
need similar chemistry.

Ideally I would like to end up with a pair of each in addition to
a
4" pleco and a 3" red-tailed shark (if he ends up being a problem
with the juveniles, he goes). Some concerns/questions:

Do I need a dither fish? I have 6 tiger barbs I could use, would
they work?

You don't _need_ dither. In some cases, you might be better
without.
Seeing as your selection is mostly calm slow moving fish, you might
be better off without dither. ymmv I'd go with the larger Rainbow
shark. My experience has been that they are slightly less agressive
than their cousins, the Red-tail shark. If you don't get a gold
severum, considering getting an albino Rainbow shark.

Rather than have 2 of the 4 species be a Severum would there be a
better choice?

Not better choices, just different choices, like Flag cichlids,
Festivums, Firemouth etc.

Given the potential size, are 4 pairs too much?

In a 55g? Yes, I think so.

Would a Geophagus be happy alone to reduce the total quantity?

You would have to ask him ;~)

NetMax

I would like to hear the voice of experience, thoughts are
appreciated.

About 2-3 weeks ago I posted the message below which gives you the
background information needed.

Thanks in advance,
Steve

I have a 55 gal well established tank the needs repopulating. I
have had angels for many years and they are starting to go (old
age
I think). I have standard gravel with a undergravel filter and
the
pH is consistently between 6.3 and 6.5. Rather than get more
angles I was thinking of going with fish with more of a
personality. Non-angel and non-discus Cichlids came to mind. I
don't want to turn the tank upside down by changing the gravel for
crushed coral to get the hard water so African cichlids are out.

Here is my question: What types of So American cichlids would
work
under those conditions. Ideally I would like to have 3 varieties
that can coexist given enough structure. I plan on getting them
young, how many of each should I get? Would I need to cull them
out for a pair of each type or would 3 or 4 of a type work?