There the fastest growing cichlid I have grown. In general 1" + a month up to 6" or so. Once they get to around 12" they slow down and bulk up but still get size pretty fast. At that size I crush up Hikari Bio Gold +, Massivore Delight, shrimp and krill a little down the raod. Keep it varied and good water quality is what matters. I would hold off on the shrimp and Krill until they get a another inch or so. Unless you can chop it up small enough...it's a pain to get that stuff really small. Good luck.