Don't be afraid to feed other things too. Nightcrawlers are cheap n easy n high in protein n safe too. Krill n shellfish will help color n pellets too. Have any pics of your fish? Have they ever spawned yet?
I tried a pleco years ago and after a year I added a few more decorative species. Not long after that all of them disappeared. This was in a 220g. It really is hit and miss.
My personal experience with beefheart is also hit and miss. They always eat it but a few times they have spit it out hours after eating. I usually wake up to cloudy water, rotting heart on the tank bottom, and really stressed gasping fish. I feed it cut into chunks sometimes, strips sometimes, and half a heart sometimes. I trim the fat too. Not sure why it happens but now when I use it I feed first thing in the morning on a day when I will be home all day. Never has happened with deer heart.
