Steatocranus tinanti

[Cichlid Debby]

I want to set up a small community around these little fish.
They would start out in a 20 long (30x12x12) and in a 3 to 4 months be moved to a 33 (48x12x13)
1. Will this be ok for 2 pairs? Is it large enough?
2. Will I need to add a power head for more current for these fish? I have sponge filters that are air pump driven.
3. Mates? Will Anomalochromis thomasi (African Butterfly) be a good companion? Or any other cichlid? And I would like to have some dwarf syno Petricola (are they still called petricola?)
4. Will I need to get my water to a more neutral state? My water is liquid rock with a PH of 8.2 when it gasses off, KH and GH are literally off the top of the chart.
Please steer me in the right direction.
Thanks!

[DJRansome]

While waiting for someone who has raised them to reply, here is an article:
https://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/s_casuarius.php

The cookie cutter says 1 pair in a 30" tank. Not sure about 2 pairs in a 48" tank. It also suggests tetras as a tank mate.

The author of the article kept them with yellow labs and/or a Malawi community.

I have the impression Steatocranus like the bottom so I wonder about Synodontis as a tank mate.

[Cichlid Debby]

Thanks DJ,
I had seen the article but did not want to assume that S. tinanti and S. casurius were identical in their needs. They seem to be closely related. They have an under developed swim bladder and do spend most of their time on the bottom or just perched on a rock. Very cool little fish.
I was hoping there might be a small peaceful cichlid I could add. Otherwise I will just have to go with tetras, they are just not one of my favorite fish.
The syno's are not a must have, and as I will not be keeping any fry, I thought they might be a nice addition if they did not harass the tinanti.

[samaki]

Hi I kept some of them with Teleogramma brichardi and it worked well and some african tetras.
xris