In strictly anatomical terms, there are differences between Anomalochromis and Rubricatochromis, the jewel Cichlids. In behavioural terms, I see thomasi as the quietest jewel. They are far less aggressive, but they can be trouble. A pair aren't great. A group squabbles, and that keeps them happy. But they tend not to be shy. They like their food, and they'll eat anything.
P subocellatus are very different. They want their caves and shadows, and they sometimes look like they aren't eating. A lot are killed by overfeeding, as a result. They're snackers and savourers of their food. They aren't scavengers, but you could make the argument.
Both, to me, are better with flakes than pellets.
If you look at pellet sizes, most stores tend to medium and large ones. Tiny pellets can be hard to find. I think that's because pellets are made for larger fish. Cichlid pellets are rarely formulated for the small species. A big fish will drag the food over its throat teeth, spit it out and work it over. Smaller fish can be more cautious.
When the business thinks Cichlid, it means Malawis, Discus, severum, and the like. I have some tiny sinking shrimp pellets. When I feed them to my Parananochromis, both wild caught and F-1, they don't eat them til they have turned to mush and started to fall apart. They're quality food, but very unappealing. Flake starts out interesting, though I do feed a lot of artemia, white worms, daphnia and mosquito larvae.
You can put bug bites pellets in an old coffee grinder or go with a mortar and pestle, and have great food for small fish there.
