Best bottom dweller for mixed African cichlid tank

there are a number of syndontis species commonly kept with africans. i'm sure someone can chime in with more precise recommendations, as i don't currently have a cichlid setup. they don't eat algae, however. but they are a good group of cats...

plecos are also kept with africans with some success, but most don't eat much algae, especially the commons which get enormous and produce 100x the poop to the amount of algae they actually eat. i would think otos would fair poorly in that high pH, highly aggressive environment. they'd end up dead from that, or from being eaten. perhaps bristlenoses would be in order here?

dj is pretty close with his comments... if you absolutely MUST have an algae eater, a bristlenose is a good choice, but most plecos will look a bit beat up in a cichlid tank. Cleaning algae off the glass yourself is really not a bad chore, and not having a pleco in there greatly reduces the bioload.

Synodontis species do well with cichlids. If you want several, Syn. petricola is a particulary good choice. If kept in groups larger than 3, they are quite active and social; they are very amusing.

If you want a single Synodontis, you have a lot of choices. I keep the following successfully with africans: Syn. ocellifer, angelicus, eupterus, flavientius (sp?), decorus and multipunctatus. I think angelicus are the most beautiful syno you can have, but that's just my preference.

HTH,
Jim

If you want an algae eater then a bristlenose pleco can't be beat.PLus they are usually able to handle themselves against the aggresive africans. I have 2 in my malawi tank without any problems. If you see it beingattacked then make sur eit has caves that are just small enough for it to fit in and escape the fish.

If you want a bottom feeder that doesn't eat algae then a synodontis is for you. Syno.petricola are my favorite as they are small and pretty. They need to be in groups of atleast 3 though.Same goes for syno.multipunctatus(sp?) but it gets bit bigger then the petricola. I have 3 of the syno.petricola in my tank also and they are doing very well.

clown loaches also suuposedly do well in some african tanks.

i would advise against clown loaches in african tanks if only because of ph issues. IME clowns seem much healthier and more colorful in pH ranges south of 7, not so far above it. my clown loaches are kept in 6.8 ph...a far cry from the 8.2 or higher many keep africans in.

Yes, that is true that clowns prefer lower Ph but i have found they will also do ok in the higher ph range too if aclimated well. My water is about ph 7.8-8.0 and i have loaches in some of my tanks and they are doing fine.

I personally haven't kept clowns with africans but tons of people over at some of the african cichlid forums do with great success.