I got 3 clown loaches that are doing good on my malawi tank, so go ahead and try them they are good tankmates for the africans and are good bottom feeders as well. If I were you though I'd skip the plants and especially the driftwood as it will make your water soft and even drop your ph, which is not good for keeping africans...what you need is a lot of rocks and trust me a mbuna tank with rocks is as good on the eye as a planted tank..just my 2 cents....