Socolofi excavation....

I was given a so called harem of P. Socolofi or powder blue cichlids....one male-4 females. They are alone in their tank with a sand bottom. The dominant fish is all colored up and shows egg spots, but they are all digging bowls or hiding places under things. The male is in the center of the tank out in the open with his, but the others are under rocks or beside, under or inside ornaments, etc. Is this typical for both sexes, or are these actually a squad of boys? Or is this just a prelude to breeding for this species?

This is my first try with mouth-brooders. I know the males can chase females and cause them to hide. But will she dig under stuff? I also know once a dominant male is established, the others will fade out. These were given to me and I like them, and would love to try my first brood of fry, but they are all separated in hiding. lol I have not tried to vent anything as they are all about 2 1/2 or so inches except one and it is pretty small, so venting won't help with that one.

Anyone willing to share some advice on these fish? Thanks.

I guess no one keeps these?

It's a 30 gal with footprint of 36x12. There are 4 fish total, all Socolofi. All 4 had dug pits, but one is now hovering over a short plant while the others stay at the pits.
The largest ,most colored fish chases everyone. And his pit is beside a large flat rock in the middle. One smaller fish at one time was following him around, but now hides under a plant. The other smaller fish is still pretty tiny, but sneaks over the flat rock to see if the male is there quite often.
The 3 that are in question, do come out, and the "male" shimmies and shakes in the sand.
I have seen them eat, but they are all washed out. That's why I came here to ask if they might all be boys. All my researching gives different opinions. Some say females don't dig, while others say they do.
I don't want to get too deep in these fish until I get more comfortable with them, so 4 was a good start. And ya can't beat free. Lol

ok, I will see if any lfs has any more. They are kinda hard to find around here. That's really why I wanted them. Maybe I could supply the stores and get some new equipment. Thank you.
I put some new rocks in there for more hiding places. And I bought some new cichlid rocks with holes inside them as well. So far they haven't suffered any damage, but I want to make sure they have plenty of places to run. Especially that tiny one. IF I find more, I may move that one out into a tank to grow out more. These are still young fish, so they are around 2 1/2 inches except the smallest. At what size will they even think of breeding? Or is this digging the start?

Thanks for the advice.

I would really like to stay at the 4 since these are setting up zones. And I hate to add fish that might upset them or make them go all postal on each other. I keep watching the larger 2 and one definately acts male. He does his little dance each time the other larger fish gets near or the tiny one. He will chase the other smaller fish. I can see a small egg spot on the dorsal fin on that smaller fish and have to wonder if that is a young male, just faded out. The tiny one pretty much gets ignored. The male is all colored up and shows major black on his fins and has a few egg spots that almost seem to light up. Today the other larger fish has stayed put and refused pellets, but did nibble on a few flakes later in the day.

If I were to get pix, would that be more helpful? I mean they look alike except for size pretty much. Sometimes if the male chases a lot, they others seem to show some striping...is that stress? It fades if he stops.