My pearsi's (and all of my cichlid's, frankly) staple diet is Ken's cichlid pellets. I supplement them with frozen bloodworms, and any random bugs or worms unfortunate enough to be caught around my house! LOL...
Cheers for the comments, guys. Most of the literature I've read indicates they tend to max out at around 8". Is 16" a one off or do they frequently exceed a foot in length?