green terror hates cichlid food

Question
I have had my lg male green terror, Romeo, for 2 yrs.  he used to eat store-bought cichlid pellets,lg and medium. Now he just eats peas and a few shrimp pellets and 2 mealworms every 3rd day. I I tried pieces of bottom feeder pellets and now he spits them out too.  I know he's holding out for live food.. Bloodworms are too messy and he doesn't seem to see them. I used to do crickets. Can he live on just a diet of earthworms and peas?  The earthworms are foolishly expensive and I hate to introduce disease with live foods. He should be on the lg cichlid pellets which he ate happily, now they just float around and sog up.  He won't do frozen silverfish or krill, takes them in and spits them out. He lives alone in his 55 gal tank.
thankyou..

Answer
Hi Fish 4962,
  As you suggest, the problem is that he has eaten the good stuff, so pellets and other dry food just isn't very appealing.  You can continue to feed him earthworms, they are pretty nutritious, but also expensive. The only way to get him to eat the other stuff is to starve him until he will eat it -- that is up to you whether you want to do that.  

-- Ron C.
   rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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