African Cichlids With Tetras?

[superglue]

i have a 20gallon tank that has 3 buenos aires tetras and have had them for about 6 months now and was wondering if i could add in a couple small african cichlids to add some color to the tank.

would they get along?
i read somewhere that cichlids wont bother other fish as long as the other fish dont look too much like them. is that true? and if so, would the tetras bother the cichlids?

the cichlids i plan to add are pretty small at around 2inches long but i know they will get much bigger over the years.
my 3 tetras are about 2 inches long right now

 

[dthoffsett]

Depends on which African Cichlids you are looking at. Any species from Lake Malawi would be unsuitable for your tank due to their needs for a larger territory (4-ft, 55gal is considered the minimum), and would likely kill your tetras. There are some smaller Lake Tanganikya species that would be fine with the tetras, specifically shelldwellers.