African Cichlids can be tempermental. They like a higher ph water then goldfish. What is kind of nice is that I'm on well water and the ph seems to be perfect so there is not much I have to do to adjust it.
These fish also tend to be aggressive - between each other and definitely towards non-african Cichlids. I have two Kenyi that beat the snot out of all the others
Some species can get large - I have a couple that will grow in excess of 10 inches, so tank size is important. I have 7 in a 55 gallon tank.
Check out
www.liveaquaria.com - they have some good information. There is also a shop in Waldorf - think it is R&K Fish - or something like that. The guys there seem to know quite abit about these types of fish.
Also, African Cichlids have a diet specific to their types - some are veggie only others are meat based.
Overall - they are not very difficult to care for and they almost seem to have personalities (?) as difficult as that might seem. Anyway, they can have some really nice coloring and can be fun to watch.