[Grah the great]

What is the floorplan on the tank? If it's less than 30" long you are basically limited to shell dwellers if you want rift lake cichlids, but if it's at least that long, a small tang community with a small, docile shellie on one end with a lot of shells and a small, docile rock dweller on the other end with a rock pile would likely work. 30" long tanks are also big enough for single species colonies of several mbuna species (I.E P. Saulosi, L. Chisumulae) and at least 1 Victorian hap (Haplochromis 'ruby green'). The tangs would probably tolerate plants if you could get around the shellie's habit of digging, but a mbuna or ruby green setup may eat the plants...you'll have better luck in both cases if you have plants before fish.

 

[Grah the great]

Actually, if you went with a multie colony and a pair of rock dwellers, you could have 6+ cichlids. If you went the mbuna/victorian hap route, you'd have more than six as a minimum, and quite possibly more than a dozen.

 

[Grah the great]

Actually, p. saulosi is regularly kept in such setups as described above, and the other two species I mentioned have either been kept in such setups successfully or have been advised for such setups. As for the tang setup, I actually asked about whether a 20 long tang community would work...what I am telling you is what I was told would work for a 20 long tang tank, which should work just as well in your tank.

The thing with the mbuna and hap is that, like many of their rift lake brethren, they have to be crowded somewhat, or else aggression breaks out and you are soon left with a single dominant male who then becomes cowardly and boring. The above species are less inclined to do that than most of their kin, but they still need groups to reduce aggression.

As for the tangs...the Multies reach a measly 1.5 inches at most, and the rock dwellers I had in mind hit 4 inches tops. It's not really all that crowded...Multies by themselves can even be kept in harems in a 10 gallon if water quality is maintained.

 

[Grah the great]

Good info, thanks a bunch. I will Def have to look into this, most of my plants in this tank are anubais varieties attached to river rock and slate. Though I do have a mound of moneywort and some crypts and swords. Would I need to add more of a shale type bottom with more rocks and caves, or would sand with four or five decent sized rock caves be enough?

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Lots of rock formations are necessary if you go the mbuna or ruby green routes, but the sand can be kept as long as the rocks are supported by the floor of the tank (mbuna dig!). Try for large, stable rock piles with lots of caves and crevasses.

As for the tangs, you should devote one half of the tank to aformentioned rock piles and one half to a large number of snail shells (think escargot or apple snail shells) in order to provide habitat and hiding places for the tangs. The multies would take the shelly half, and the rock dweller (most likely either a small Julidochromis sp. or a Neolamprologus Caudopunctatus) will take the rocks.