my horseface loaches spend most of their time burrowing around
Look into Kuhlii loaches--mine are always in among the gravel--always low. When I bought them, I was told they like small particle substrate so they can burrow.
OR
If you go with cichlids RESEARCH first! Red Hump Geophagus are nice--used to have one, but the Mbuna were too much for him (did not research that one
). Speaking of Mbuna cichlids (Lake Malawi), they excavate all the time. They move everything--gravel, sea shells, whatever they can get in their mouths
! I just started a Tang tank--the brichardi move the sand, but their mouths are not that big--I still need to move the sand bi-weekly. I also bought shell dwellers--they move sand, but once it's piled up at the ends of the tank, it sits there and I have to move it.
This will be your biggest problem.
IMHO, no mater what cichlid you get, once they move the substrate to their satisfaction, they will not move it back (and you will have to move it
).
If you want to keep a non-cichlid tropical tank, go with fish that burrow. Just be prepared to “help out” when needed. Also, I was given great advice from TankGirl—put a sponge (prefilter) on your filter intake, so sand will not get sucked up.
geophagus arent very aggresive.
Agreed, but they will eat what fits in their mouths!
I would not mix community fish with cichlids (4" and up)--rams and dwarfs are fine, but they are not going to dig for you