One of my personal favorites is a 20 gallon long with several chunks of lavarock drilled full of holes. Further more I like to attach java fern to the lava rock. I believe a decent 100gph hob coupled with proper water changes is sufficient to filter for the following occupants.

I would populate with 6 Julidochromis dickfeldi. Once a pair has formed I remove the other 4 fish and let the pair make a family.

Julies seems to thrive on an omniverous diet. They can subsist on flake alone though I personally like to give them live treats such as brine shrimp occasionally.

20 gallon "Shellie"
-take a trio of N. multifasciatus or a pair of N. brevis or the like...
-use a sand substrate.
-cover the bottom of the tank with apple snail shells, turbo snail shells, escargot shells or any other similiar sized shells...
-if your tap water is soft or acidic, use a commercially available or "DIY" buffer to raise the pH to at least 8.0.
-filter with a good hang on back filter (~200gph)
-Heat to 78-80 F