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Could this work in a 55gal
-1 severum
-2 buffalo head
-6 cories or other bottom feeders open to suggestions
-10 congo tetras

When you say buffalo head are you talking about block head cichlids from Africa?

yes

I can't comment on the cichlid combination cause I've never kept the hump head cichlid. however you'd already be pushing the stocking limit with just that school of congo tetras. these are one of the larger species of tetra that can reach 5" or so.

I agree with jason on the congo tetra issue. I personally think you may be better off dropping the congo tetras and the blockhead cichlids. In place of the congos maybe go with a school of rio grande tetras and I would keep the cories. The reason I would drop the blockheads is that places to much in the bottom niche of your tank. Two blockheads and 6 cories makes the bottom a bit crowded in my opinion. Plus the blockheads prefer much harder water than the sevs and cories.

Plus the blockheads prefer much harder water than the sevs and cories.

Actually Steatocranus casuarius is a West African cichlid from the Congo River. In the book African Cichlids I Cichlids of West Africa it cites the ph in the range of the humphead cichlid to range from 7.0 to 7.5. Now it doesn't mention the water hardness in this range but it does say the water is very rich in oxygen. I don't think hardness would be too important so long as the ph is consistent. Many West African cichlids (such as the humphead) come from waters that are similar to the waters in South America. Usually the ph is neutral to slightly acidic or just slightly alkaline in this case. Water parameter wise I think the humpheads, severums and cories would do very well together. S. casuarius is supposed to be a rather peaceful species only causing trouble with other bottom dwelling cichlid species so the cories should be ok with them. Also severums stay usually in the middle area of the aquarium so a single severum will probably not cause much trouble for the humpheads.

Basically, aside from being biotopically (is that a word) incorrect setup I think it could very well work.