Mbuna is a good place to start for breeding Africans they require smaller tanks then haps and peacocks and you can really over crowd which is always a nice thing. In terms of getting good stock you really just have to pick them out your self pure colors, so electric yellows should be vibrant yellows the less white and black on the bodies basically the better the quality to a point. Each species will be different. Finage make sure there are no bent fins or gill deformity's
Mbuna are the first fish I bred and still breed and I enjoy a lot. They are very easy to breed I really haven't experienced any more of a challenge with the more "rare" then with the more common fish but I haven't explored super deep into this. My electric yellows and my rustys breed just as easy as my small group of Lions cove polits (not that they are super rare but I bet you don't see them at your LFS)
I'd basically buy as many of a species as I could from a few different places IE. auctions, a few different fish stores local breeders and grow them up together. And basically that's it LoL they will breed for you, you may need to separate males as they get larger and keep as many females as possible with minimal males put some caves or cichlid stones in the tank and in a few months you should have fry. Make sure you cull any deformities or runts, also any fish you don't find up to snuff color wise if that's what your going for.
There is so many different types to choose from just pick something you like that will fit in whatever tank you have.
