Julidochromis transcriptus 'Gombe' Tankmates??

[BluePhoenix]

Hey Everyone,

I've been to a few other cichlid forums, and so far I have received a huge amount of opinions, many of which contradict each other or disagree with each other. I'm a new member of this board :)

I am new to cichlids, but not to the hobby.

I purchased and setup a 23 gallon tank (30"x12"Wx15"D) specifically for Tanganyikan cichlids.

The plan was to keep a species of Julidochromis (a pair) along with some shell dwellers (3-4 Multis or Brevis).

I went to an auction yesterday, and purchased 5 juvenile Julidochromis transcriptus "Gombe".
From the looks of it, the transcriptus Gombe has been renamed marlieri gombe.

Questions:

1) The juveniles are between 3/4" and 1 1/4" in length. What should I be feeding them?
2) How fast do they grow and when are they considered to be mature?
3) Are they considered to be aggressive?
4) Since they are "marlieri", what size do they reach :confused:
5) Can I keep the shell dwellers with them or am I bound to a species tank?
6) I've noticed that the top half of the tank will seem empty, since both the shellies and julies are "bottom dwellers". Can I have a surface dweller as a dither fish?


Any other advice, comments, and suggestions would be great!

Thanks!

blue