Y'all are right that our city water is perfect for african cichlids AND our holey rock is free.

It also helps that Dave's Rare Fish is here in SA - what a wonderful selection he has. His advice is go through his store, and pick your top few fish. Then he'll tell you which of them gets along, and you can then build the collection around those 2 or 3.

BTW, my discus tank runs off of San Antonio water that has been run through a water softener, then filtered.