Yes to the pellets! I had 4 G Tile at one point and two of them learned to swim up to the top of the tank and get them as soon as the other fish started eating. Only one never adapted to eating pellets.
Another favorite food was crayfish. I have a (poor quality) video on Youtube with my eels tearing into a crayfish. I think they like the diversity of pellets, shrimp (with the shells on) and live fish.