You don't need perlite. I don't use it. It surely won't hurt but it's not necessary. I see your problem already. It's how you water.
When you water in anything, you need fine holes in the head. Otherwise, it compacts, which is what you have going on.
Get one of those 2qt Juicy Juice jugs or something similar and put 5 holes in the cap with the smallest drill bit you have, so you have to squeeze for it to come out.
Compaction will also slow down aeration, as in your case... That's why people use so much perlite.
Also, you don't need to water every time. You are rocking clones with little root mass, so it's only necessary to water when they need it.
When all else fails, trust your judgement and common sense. Water when they need it, not when people on the Internet tell you to.
They look fine, little hungry maybe.
