Well, I tried your advice to add fish and move them into a larger tank(55) alone, and it was all out war and I have one fish left. I even added a smaller fish than they were and still that fish fought with everyone and now I am out of the socolofi business. I gave them more rocks, more pots and plants to hide in and yet they still hated it. At least in the 30, the original 4 tolerated each other. The female that is left is holding, but is pretty banged up. She is alone in a 10 until she spits and then I am back to Central and South american.
I added the 2 new fish first and then the old crew to give them the chance to not be ganged up on. I had 6 fish total and none were over 2 1/2" or so. I added fish in the dark and left it dark for over 24 hours. But when I went to feed it was over. In less than another 24, I only have the tail-less, pitiful female with a mouthful.
I kept asking questions because I want to learn, not argue. I was just explaining why I got what I got, and why I had them where I did. Books give info that is different from what you guys are saying...that's all I wanted to get. You say prolific, info says difficult to breed. You say aggressive, info in places agrees and some say mildly aggressive. Some say females dig, others say they don't. See my issues? I am not a rookie at fish, but I just wanted to learn africans and get some advice on how to go about learning without burning my pocket and killing my fish.
So, thank you for all your info and advice. Sorry I posted what you didn't want to hear maybe. I asked for help and explained my situation. We all have to start somewhere. I have raised cichlids for 20+ years, but never tried africans. Now I know why.