I feed mine one food at a time. I don't mix them up. It seems they quickly get tired of eating the same thing over and over (as indicated by a less eager feeding response). So, I feed one type of food at a time. I feed several small pieces by placing them on the tentacles with plastic feeding tongs. Occasionally I soak my food in Selcon, but not every feeding. With silversides and shrimp, assuming the foods haven't been too long in the freezer, you should get a good feeding response. If you have the occasion to get mackerel or fresh anchovies, you should try those. I suppose it's the high fat content, my mags grab those especially vigorously.