what are these cichlids of yours? , you want to be feeding them more than just 1 type of sinking pellet. I'm guessing african cichlids? I feed all sorts from different pellets and flake to shrimp, spirulina. A lot of people make a blend of frozen veges and shrimp, I feed this to all my fish every morning and they love the stuff. I think variety is good, who would want to eat the same thing every meal?
How old are your fish, how long have you had them and how much are you feeding them?