How many Julidochromis Ornatus can I keep in a 40 breeder?

[AaronKWolfe]

I saw a 40 breeder for free on FB marketplace and picked it up. I want to start trying to keep African Cichlids as my water is hard and I suspect that may make it difficult to keep South American/Central American Cichlids. I was thinking of possibly having some Julidochromis Ornatus in the 40 breeder, along with some Neolamprologus Multifasciatus if the tank would be big enough to appropriately house the two. However, I have seen mixed information on how many Julies to keep. Some sources were saying you can buy them in a small group of 6-8, while others recommended only having a pair due to aggression. What would be my best option? Should I get 6-8 julies and keep them? Buy 6-8 julies and wait until they pair off and only keep one pair? Would keeping shelldwellers with Julies be a bad idea in a smaller tank?

 

[Milingu]

In that tank size you normally go with a pair that will live with it's offspring for quite a while. A bit like the N. brichardi group but less aggressive towards other species. It's often recommended to buy 6-8 because mated pairs tend break up way more often than other cichlids when re-homed. You wait till a pair formes and re-home the others.