Lake Malawi Cichlid breeding cycle

I purchased a Lake Malawi chichlid in December. With the help of a friend who has a tank full of cichilds, I was able to get my tank cycled very quicly - practically zero levels of amonia/amonium, nitrate and nitrite. I change 20% of the tank water every two weeks. The fish is and always has been very healthy and active.

In late March the fish, suddenly, stopped eating. This occurred about a week after we noticed that the fish had dug a depression in the gravel. We also noticed that the fish's normal behavior of opening and closing its mouth ("gaping") had also stopped. About eight days later the fish went back to all of its normal behaviors, including its insatiable desire for food. We concluded that the change in behavior was due to the fish having eggs in her mouth (no other fish in the tank so no fertilization).

Well, yesterday we noticed a repeat performance - stopped eating, new depression dug in gravel, no "gaping", etc.

My question - is it possible that the fish is trying to spawn within a month of its first attempt?

Thanks, in advance.