The reason they are saying to avoid mixing those fish is because they have totally different social structuring. The africans are fighting for space and their territory, the south americans are fighting for dominance. Every time they leave the fight they both think they won and can't figure out why the other fish is not abiding by their "rules" so they get more pissed and the fight is on all over again.
You would be WAY happier in the long run stocking the tank with fish that will get along long term. I've never seen anyone keeping a breeding pair of jewels with other fish for very long. They are the best parents in the world, which equates to making the lives HELL of anything that can't get out of that glass box and get away. Red zebras don't pair bond, so if it is a male and a female he'll eventually chase her to death. In his world, if she enters his territory, she's ready to spawn. In that tank, she can't get out because you kept a lid on it so she's pretty much at his mercy and unable to "put out" nearly often enough to suit him.
I do have to disagree with one point. Clown loaches are not helpless and they do great in tanks with Africans with the same dietary needs. I don't recommend them to go with mbuna, but they do great with yellow labs and peacocks. I have some that are 7 years old in a 240 with Rainbows, green tiger barbs, and a few other fish in the wall of my store. People are amazed how much the clowns come out and swim around.
As to needing different water parameters, I personally think people worry too much about that. My tap water comes out at 7.8 and everything in the house and shop live in it. I acclimate them slowly, be sure there's never any ammonia present, and I have fish spawning constantly. There is always more than one way to get the results you want. Stability for the fish, IMO, is far more important than exactly matching the pH of the water they were caught in. With that said, I wouldn't dream of letting my pH get below 7.5 for my wild colony of moba frontosa, but my tank raised discus are doing just great in my tap water. I do have an RO unit that I regularly use for spawning my plecos, but IME, it's the fluctuation of the TDS, not the pH that works as a trigger.
Barbie
You would be WAY happier in the long run stocking the tank with fish that will get along long term. I've never seen anyone keeping a breeding pair of jewels with other fish for very long. They are the best parents in the world, which equates to making the lives HELL of anything that can't get out of that glass box and get away. Red zebras don't pair bond, so if it is a male and a female he'll eventually chase her to death. In his world, if she enters his territory, she's ready to spawn. In that tank, she can't get out because you kept a lid on it so she's pretty much at his mercy and unable to "put out" nearly often enough to suit him.
I do have to disagree with one point. Clown loaches are not helpless and they do great in tanks with Africans with the same dietary needs. I don't recommend them to go with mbuna, but they do great with yellow labs and peacocks. I have some that are 7 years old in a 240 with Rainbows, green tiger barbs, and a few other fish in the wall of my store. People are amazed how much the clowns come out and swim around.
As to needing different water parameters, I personally think people worry too much about that. My tap water comes out at 7.8 and everything in the house and shop live in it. I acclimate them slowly, be sure there's never any ammonia present, and I have fish spawning constantly. There is always more than one way to get the results you want. Stability for the fish, IMO, is far more important than exactly matching the pH of the water they were caught in. With that said, I wouldn't dream of letting my pH get below 7.5 for my wild colony of moba frontosa, but my tank raised discus are doing just great in my tap water. I do have an RO unit that I regularly use for spawning my plecos, but IME, it's the fluctuation of the TDS, not the pH that works as a trigger.
Barbie