It's largely a matter of personal preference. I'd prefer a Tanganyikan
tank with *lamprologus, julidochromis, and the like. Lotsa rockwork,
sand substrate. As for plants, java moss and java fern do well. I've
also had good luck with Vallisneria, and imagine Sagittarius would do
well. There are other plants which would tolerate the hard water with
enough light, but can't tell ya off the top of my head.

If you go Malawi and you want plants, you'd probably wanna stick with
haplochromines rather than mbuna, as the latter would probably chew up
your vegetation.

wrote:
New to cichlids, interested in starting a tank 55gallons or so, and am
wondering what kinds of setups are best. Malawi? Tanganika? I'd like
to have fish that stay relatively small (no oscars, please) and
possibly some plants, but beyond that I'm looking for suggestions on
where to start. I'd like to keep fish from relatively the same natural
locations.