The 29g is too small to support a catfish or two. Bear in mind African cichlids dwell the bottom level so it is not surprising to see plenty of catfish missing an eye or two from constant harassments and I'm not suggesting loaches either.
i threw a CAE in my cichlid tank (i was getting rid of them anyway) to see how it went half of it was gone next morning needless to say i gave up the idea of putting anything else in there
why do you want bottom dwellers with cichlids anyway???? they should clean the bottom for you!!!! but i have peacocks and have orderd yellow labs they should get along fairly well what kind of cichlids do you have? and how big?
Sorry I missed this topic - must come in to the cool cats more often
29G is too small for most africans anyway.
Best choice for bottom dwellers in an African tank however is synodontis catfish. Synodontis multipunctatus are a very attractive fish, do not get huge and as tanganyikans are well able to look after themselves.
People also try a bristlenose plec from time to time. Works out sometimes, other times the plec gets a hammering. Could not be considered as safe.
try a siamese algae eater. stay somewhat small (at least slender) and are aggressive. they will not be able to suck the africans slime coat and are too fast to be caught either