Feeding My Pleco

Hey it's been forever since i've been here. I still have my Pleco and I am at a loss as to what to feed him at this point in his life. I have had him 4 years now I believe and he is still growing, not sure if he is growing as fast as he would if he were in a larger tank but I don't even want to go there right now. He is growing so that's good. BUT over the last several months he has been getting picky!!
First, he gave up his fruits and veggies. He used to love cucumber, broccoli, blueberries, strawberries, celery, lettuce and pretty much anything else from the produce isle. He refuses all of it now. He did eat the cory's which to me says he wants meat. So I continued with the Omega flakes, tubiflex worms, spirulina algae tabs and shrimp. He now doesn't eat shrimp or spirulina tabs and I can't tell if he eats the tubiflex worms or if the snails and pump get them. When I put in his flakes he doesn't even act like I have placed food in anymore. He is still very active just not for food. All of my anubias and other plants are doing great and getting larger and I rarely ever see him eating the driftwood.
I know that the tank is being over fed by my water swings AND the outbreaks of snails. He DOES eat the snails so I feel "okay" with a little over feeding because they seem to see food and lay a dozen clutches. I also have malaysians that I see quite often but he doesn't appear to eat those.
What should I try to feed him? I am on a really small budget so live food etc really isn't a regular option.
When I was a child a family friend who had a giant Pleco fed it raw red meat including fat off of steaks etc, but obviously I have no clue if a fish should be eating a cow since cows are not found in the lake! LOL
I LOVE that my Pleco is still active and such but I really worry about his food. it doesn't seem to be affecting his energy so many I am getting more snails then I even realize?
He used to also love the Pleco Banquet blocks but they are like 4 dollars a piece so I can't feed them daily. I really don't want to buy guppies or something as feeders if I can help it because of disease and QT. I know the babies would be worth it but the first weeks/months of ensuring healthy stock is too much work for my life at the moment.

THANK YOU!!!

 

What kind of pleco do you have? Guppys would be a waste. I would get some oily fish from the market and try it. Any saltwater species of fish should work.

 

he is a common... can't recall his specific name off hand, why saltwater fish when he is freshwater? Does this mean things like canned shrimp and tuna and such may be a better option than the stuff in the fish food isle?

 

The freshwater fish sold in the market aren't oily that's why I feed saltwater fish to my fish. The oil in the fish attracts them to it. I wouldn't use seafood out of a can. I would also try some HikarI carnivore pellets or massivore. Massivore is quite expensive and you can't get it at PetSmart/Petco. I would continue to try to feed it veggies as well since they are omnivores.

 

thanks Hopefully he will like your suggestions. LOL At least he really likes snails!