[Lupin]

Tinfoil barbs or leporinus(although they need to be in shoals).
What was the size of your tank? If 150 gallons, leporinus will fit in number of 4.

 

[Lupin]

Yellow Labs are one of the most peaceful mbunas. At least, inaggressive.

You can go with those but you can't keep plants as they will turn your plants into salad.

 

[Lupin]

You can't put plants in your tank if you want Yellow Labs. Malawian cichlids are known to eat or uproot the plants depending on their dietary requirements.
Yellow Labs will definitely eat your plants.
Why not try discus, altum angelfish, tetras, apistos and cories? With a tank that size, you can put all those fish altogether but try to look if some tetras tolerate the hgh temps which the discus requires.
You can put plants in there.

 

[Lupin]

Altums are easy distinguished from scalares. Look for the sharp indentation above their eyes and brown bars. Fins should be erect. Your tank fits for both species.

I'd go with the binlids(discus) then.

By the way, if you want altums, then no cardinal and neon tetras for you.

Altums have extendable mouths and will eat even the adult harlequin rasboras.

Discus isn't that difficult to keep. I know it's expensive but they can be rewarding to keep. Trust me, you'll be a discus enthusiast once you own discus. And perhaps, breed them successfully.

Malawi cichlids? I'd ditch them to the bin. I used to own them but I'm disappointed with keeping them as they poop alot and worse, when they grow, they can bite and their bites are painful. No plants for the tank either. If they eat javan ferns, then they have high chances of endangering their lives. One article mentioned that scats eating javan ferns tend to die sooner than those that did not eat that plant. From my understanding, the reason why some pure vegetarians avoid this plant is that they contain poisonous substances.

 

[Lupin]

Discus-12-15 years
Altums-8-10 years
Scalares-8-10 years
Blue Rams-2-3 years
Tetras-4-5 years
Cories-3-5 years
Other apistos-2-4 years

However if you maintain your tank very well, expect longer life span.

 

[Lupin]

let me rephrase that. a larger, non-pleco fish. Wink if i was to put a larger malawi cichlid in with smaller ones, i assume it would eat it...right?

I assume Joe may have meant the common plec. However there are other loricariids which stay small and may fit in your tank. Bristlenose and whiptails are good choices. Although the point is that loricariids look out of place with Malawi biotopes.
If you still plan on Malawi cichlids, you may try synodontis catfish.

I'd prefer the South American biotope though.

Altums and discus are more pleasing to the eye than those Malawi cichlids. Malawis poop a lot anyway compared to the SA cichlids which don't do that much. Be careful with what you choose. You may like them but soon, you may take a dislike to them. Also, bear in mind that as tetras are the natural prey of angels, it's best not to buy neons and other smaller tetras. Diamond tetras and other deep-bodied tetras are fine as long as they are adults. Juveniles may end up getting eaten.

 

[Lupin]

ani-mal-lvr: I am doing discus now and of course i will have plecos as well!

Ah well. Members are now drooling over fancy plecs. If only some guys ship them for me(free of charge :mrgreen: ).:bluelaugh: Then I will be eternally grateful.:mrgreen:

Forget it. The stupid government will only think these plecs will cause foreign invasion after some plecs particularly the Hypostomus plecostous have sow terror on marshlands and rivers.:redmad:
How unlucky.:blueworry: