It is very possible to have breeding cichlids in a community tank. If you are looking for south american cichlids you can have a pair of firemouths but when breeding they can be quite aggressive towards other fish, they also tend to eat anything that it can get in its mouth so stay away from tetras because these fish can get up to 7 inchs long,they are also active burrowers so sand is perfect for them, they are usually sexually mature at about 3 inchs,do not keep them with other cichlids if you want a breeding pair as they are more on the bark and no bite side,fish compatible with them are plecostomus, swordtails,giant danios,and maybe tiger barbs which can nip at the fins of the firemouths, as for telling males and females apart: males are much larger and may aquire a bit of yellow it is almost impossible to tell when young.
As for africans try for a Flavescent Peacocks. They are easy to tell apart as males are much prettier and females are an ugly grey. You need sand for these as they build little sand nests to lay eggs. They breed easy if you want breeding get 4 or 5 females and 1 male and let the male choose. They are carnivorus and would eat live, frozen, and dry foods. They also get along with other africans that come fr rift lake as well. You must feeed several small meals a day to stop their grazing behavior.
HOPE THIS HELPS.
