After what you said about Neolamprologus pulcher, im am intending on not getting them because I dont want only one species of fish. Can the last two that I named go together. What other fish can go with them?
OK, I have no idea of your level of knowledge on fish species and such, so pardon me if this is already known, but I will briefly explain the background to selecting fish.
Freshwater fish have evolved to function best in very specific water parameters and environment. There is some adaptability but it is very limited in most species. We can consider fish in three very general groupings: soft water species that absolutely must have soft water, hard water species that absolutely must have hard water, and those species that sort of fall in the middle and can usually do well in either provided it is not extreme. "Moderately soft/moderately hard" sort of. If you want health fish, they must be suited to your water parameters (GH is the most important, then pH and KH).
Cichlids from the rift lakes in East Africa are very unique; the water in these lakes is the hardest and most basic (pH) of any fish in the hobby (so far as I know to date). The fish themselves also have evolved relatively rapidly in geological terms. They are for the most part on the aggressive side. So maintaining them alone in sufficient-sized tanks is necessary. And not all of them can co-exist even at that.
I am not especially knowledgeable with rift lake fish, it has been more than three decades since I had a tank of Malawi cichlids, and I have not kept up with things well enough to advise on compatibility of this and that species. There are several rift lake aquarists here who can.
With respect to the other fish mentioned in post # 15, those are all soft water species, with some perhaps in the "middle" area. But they would not last long in with rift lake fish, either from the water parameters or the aggressive tendency of the cichlids.
Your water is on the hard side, so well suited to rift lake fish. There are other species that like this too, though not with any of the rift lake fish. Livebearers and rainbowfish come to mind. Livebearers are from Mexico and Central America, and there are some fairly peaceful cichlid species in those habitats. Rainbowfish are from New Guinea and Australia.
If you did go the RO route as was mentioned earlier, that would open up South American and SE Asian fish options; these all need softer water. However, having to prepare water for water changes can get involved, and it is usually best to have prepared water on hand for emergency WC's. It is certainly possible, but costly and complex.
