Clown loaches are schooling fish, really bad idea to keep 2. A tiger loach would be fine by itself, or a single Asian upside down catfish (look like Syno's, but they're all black with a few gold or silver flecks on the sides.) They're generally as nasty as most larger cichlids, and hold their own better than Syno's in general.
On the bicher note, I had a fair-size ornate some years ago. Picked up several baby Syno eupterus, thought the spines would keep them safe from being eaten. I actually saw the last one going down the bicher tail-first, spines and all, squeaking like it was calling for help.