What makes flake food so bad?

[Rocksor]

My LFS buys pure Spirulina flakes in 10lb quantities - which is a huge volume to see in person lol - from a non-brand name side source of some kind. Until they are crushed you can easily find flakes in the barrel spanning 5inches.

They only feed their African's and SA/CA's these Spirulina flakes, though the the SA/CA's supposedly also get periodic shrimp/worms. They have some very large Cichlid's as well. I won't mention the name but in the state of MA they are a very highly regarded LFS specializing in Cichlids.

Why are these flakes OK for their fish but not others?

So do the fish they sell look sick and thin?

 

[Inglorious]

If everything else is equal(brand, variety, etc) the only difference in manufacturing pellets vs. flakes is the last step before packaging. Either the meal is run through an extruder like you use to make pasta for pellets or it goes through a sheeter for flakes. Nutritionally they're the same, but like what has been pointed out already flakes are a lot messier and the fish may not actually consume all the nutrients like they would with a pellet.