Betta Behavior Seems Odd?

So I currently have, and previously have had, a number of Bettas, both male and female. However my Crown Tail Betta Male is exhibiting behavior I haven't seen before.
First I caught him laying nearly on his side down on the gravel under a plant. He wouldn't move until I went after him gently with a net.
Then shortly after, I watched him squeeze himself in between rows of a short, fake plastic bush I use for shrimp cover, and he just stayed there for quite a while. He was wedged in.
All of my water parameters are optimal. He's in a 20 gallon tank with a good Hob filter and a heater, as well as a bubble wall. He has many live plants and caves to hide in or around. Otherwise he seems healthy, eating and swimming normally, breathing at a normal pace with no discoloration or physically viewable parasites or illness.
I'm worried he is going to get himself stuck or damage his fins or that he may be getting sick. Is this kind of behavior natural, or should I be worried about it?

 

So I currently have, and previously have had, a number of Bettas, both male and female. However my Crown Tail Betta Male is exhibiting behavior I haven't seen before.
First I caught him laying nearly on his side down on the gravel under a plant. He wouldn't move until I went after him gently with a net.
Then shortly after, I watched him squeeze himself in between rows of a short, fake plastic bush I use for shrimp cover, and he just stayed there for quite a while. He was wedged in.
All of my water parameters are optimal. He's in a 20 gallon tank with a good Hob filter and a heater, as well as a bubble wall. He has many live plants and caves to hide in or around. Otherwise he seems healthy, eating and swimming normally, breathing at a normal pace with no discoloration or physically viewable parasites or illness.
I'm worried he is going to get himself stuck or damage his fins or that he may be getting sick. Is this kind of behavior natural, or should I be worried about it?

its natural for bettas to act like this. some are just troublemakers that love to get into everything and explore everywhere in the tank. although I wouldnt keep that plastic plant in, I would replace it with a silk plant

you should see the kind of positions I find my betta in lol

 

IMG_0360

• Anna Score
• Sep 19, 2017
• 1

Topaz chillin' on his anubias plant.

Here was one of mine lounging around today. It had me laughing every time I walked by.

 

haha yes they are sort of like cats in that way, if they fit (or barely fits) they sit

 

When I used to have these plants he got stuck like this and didn't even try to get out lol I had to physically put my hand around him for him to swim out lol then he stared at me with a "really?" look.

 

mine just loves sitting on the filter intake >.>

although he does this amazing scream face lol he will swim along the front of the tank while make scream faces every once in a while

 

Oh good, I thought he was ill or insane!
I have many live and silk plants of various sizes. He picked the only plant in the aquarium that is tiny and closely rowed plastic. I just had it in there for my shrimps but I recently got a shrimp cave so it can come out now. He likes hanging out in the little mason jar in there too, but I've never seen him "lay down" on the bottom, only on plant leafs, and not quite so...comfortably? Nor have I seen him just jam and wedge himself into anything. I've had him about a month so I guess he's decided that now he's going to go spelunking or something lol.

 

Oh good, I thought he was ill or insane!
I have many live and silk plants of various sizes. He picked the only plant in the aquarium that is tiny and closely rowed plastic. I just had it in there for my shrimps but I recently got a shrimp cave so it can come out now. He likes hanging out in the little mason jar in there too, but I've never seen him "lay down" on the bottom, only on plant leafs, and not quite so...comfortably? Nor have I seen him just jam and wedge himself into anything. I've had him about a month so I guess he's decided that now he's going to go spelunking or something lol.

yeah they sit in the weirdest places that don't seem comfy lol

 

Insane yea they all are. Lol. Sick not so much.

 

One of my bettas loves napping on his heater despite the leaf bed I paid for, he uses that every once in a while but loves the top of his heater. c:

 

I have also caught mine wedged between my breeder net and the tank. Fortunately my net sits a bit away from the tank, but it doesn't look comfortable. He swims freely behind it and can come and go as he pleases but it just vexes me. He has all of these lovely plants, live and silk, these ornaments and caves and so on, and is spending his time in the most difficult, uncomfortable looking places he can find! Like dude why have I bothered making your environment the best I can and beautiful and spacious and full of lovely hiding and resting spaces when you're just gonna spend time in places that look like they'd fail to house a shrimp, let alone your big booty. Oy. Well at least he's enjoying himself I guess LOL.

 

When I first started my sorority one morning I turned the lights on and they were stuffed in the plants. I was oh no their all dead. The one castle I had to drill the hole bigger because they grew a little and were struggling to get threw it. There is a much bigger opening right next to it. Lol. Goofy fish

 

HI all! I’m a brand new Betta mom and I have a couple questions. I bought a male half moon betta 8 days ago for my son’s birthday. We have a three gallon tank with five leafy silk plants and a floating log. The first few days, Baloony (my four-year-old son’s name choice) was very chill. He mostly laid in a cradle that one of the plants made (we called it his hammock) and would happily eat when it was time. But now he’s acting very different and I’m worried.

I’m feeding him three pellets twice a day. At first I soaked them, but they would sink immediately and he couldn’t always catch them and they were starting to cloud up the tank. So now I just drop them in, they float, and he gobbles them up happily. I noticed that he seemed to immediately know that we are the source of his food and anytime we come near his tank (often, as it’s in the kitchen), it’s as if he gets excited for food.

Two days ago, it seemed like the water level had gone down a bit and Baloony’s hammock spot was right up at the water level. So I added some water. I made sure the temp that I added was the same as the tank. He has hardly laid in his hammock spot since then.

I had originally bought a cheap “always on” heater that didn’t regulate the temp. It was fluctuating between 73 and 80 and I was plugging and unplugging the heater throughout the day based on the number. So I quickly bought a more expensive regulating heater. It’s set at 78 now and staying at that consistently.

After reading through a few threads on here, I’m wondering if I messed up his hammock spot. Maybe he liked being right up at the surface and adding water disrupted that? Also wondering if I need a real leaf hammock and more hiding/exploring spaces for him. My husband wondered if the first couple of days was stressed behavior (lethargic), and now this is normal? I don’t know anything about nitrate, etc. levels. I only added 2-3 cups of water, so I didn’t think that would affect anything.

Also, whenever I come near his tank, he comes close and gets really excited when he’s fed. I feel like he would eat anything I put in there. Is it possible I should feed him more?

***I was posting this last night, but couldn't get the video to load, so I saved it and am posting it now. I just came down this morning and fed Baloony. I noticed a film across the top of the water in his tank. Also, I posted a picture of some suds collected on one side. Do I need to clean/change the water? Was planning to do that soon since it's been a week, but not exactly sure what that entails.

Also, when I fed him this morning (placing one pellet at a time on the surface of the water), he ate the first one seemingly fine, but then after the second one, he spit both pellets out. They had expanded in his mouth and sank and he tried to catch one of them, but couldn't. He nosed at the gravel a bit but gave up. I noticed the previous pellets down there that he's missed over the week. Definitely time to clean/vacuum.

To me it feels like he’s swimming in a frantic/erratic manner. Should I be worried? Does anyone have any advice/tips/thoughts? And as a newbie I just feel like something's wrong and I'm not sure what to do! The feeding feels like it's hasn't been going well over the past day or so, like he's struggling with the pellets. Just feeling lost, would SO appreciate any help! Thanks in advance!

I'm uploading pics and videos.

 

City water?
You use test kits to check nitrogen levels?
Water change 25% once a week or close to?

 

The "suds" are probably the bubble nest he has made. Betta are pigs when it comes to feeding. I feed mine once every other day.

 

HI there! Bettas are wonderful creatures and you have a pretty one! I’d love to help you out with your first one!

To begin, do you know about the nitrogen cycle? It is very important and is what will keep your fish alive, healthy, and happy You might want to do some research, but if it is too confusing, one of us can simplify it for you

How much food are you feeding, what brand, and how many times per day? (Sorry if you said that already, I didn’t catch it)

Bettas make bubble nests, meaning the blow bubbles in one spot repeatedly until it forms a big mass. This is my boy’s nest currently—

Reggie’s massive bubble nest

• aquafrogg
• Jan 3, 2019
• 5

It continues on the other sode of that corner. He’s so cute. He works on his bubble nest every...

So if you see bubbles don’t be alarmed!

You guys have a lovely little home for him. It wil be perfect for him! However, if money allows, bigger is always better. In Germany, bettas aren’t allowed to be in anything less than 10 gallons. But if you don’t have the money for it, no worries!

Also, your boy’s behavior doesn’t seem abnormal. He’s just begging for food and playing with his reflection as he gets used to the tank.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any questions!

 

Are you using any type of chlorine remover? That has to be used every single time you add water to the tank.
Go back to soaking his pellets, they will expand in his stomach if you don’t. He will learn that when you pick your finger in or near the water that he will get food and start paying more attention & eat better. But if he does miss you, use a turkey baser & suck the pellet back out. Or leave it for a few hours to see if he finds it, but don’t leave it in the tank because it will rot.
Since you just set up your tank, and you didn’t say anything about using media from a cycled tank then you will have to go through the water cycle. Step 1. Deadly Ammonia build up,then Step 2. Deadly Nitrites and then finally Step 3. Nitrates developing (good ) You need to research the cycling of a new tank. Sadly I’m rushing and can’t explain it all, but basically your tank has started Step 1, cloudy water is mostly from the deadly ammonia building in. You need to do a water change ( like you said, vacuuming the gravel) It will take 6-8 weeks for in fish cycling ( that’s what you are doing now )
The hammock... it should be about inch below the water surface. My betta’s will use them every single day for weeks, then suddenly stop just to start again... it’s nothing to worry about. They don’t have to use it.
You need to do the water partial ASAP because he can get ammonia burns . Suck the water up from bottom. Replace water w same temperature of water in the tank. Sounds like you need to start with 40-50% , get some Prime water conditioner it can help lock up the ammonia /nitrites BUT that will throw off your water test . You really really need to get some test kits API masterkit is a good one ( but pricey BUT worth the money )
Oh... with your 50% water change. Unplug your heater so it won’t break... wait 10- 15 mins after you unplug and 10-15 to plug it back in after your replace the water
I have to go, hopefully someone can come along and finish explaining tank cycling or you can google it ( I hate telling people to do that instead of explaining it myself , but I’m out of time
Be back later & good luck
Excuse typos...I’m rushing

One more thing.... never break down and clean you tank out. You need the beneficiary bacteria to develop and it needs to be in your tank to have a healthy tank. When you stir up the gravel and see “ dirt particles “ that’s GOOD. Leave that in there. Only remove left over food, his waste, dead plants, etc. a lot of people think the stuff I mentioned when you start the tank is bad but in reality it’s good. Once you research this cycle mentioned by me and another poster you will understand.
I don’t know what type of filter you were using but if you are have a friend or family member that has a established tank you can use their filter cartridge or maybe they’re sponge filter if that’s what they use and that will really jumpstart or even cycle your tank very quickly .

One more thing.... never break down and clean you tank out. You need the beneficiary bacteria to develop and it needs to be in your tank to have a healthy tank. When you stir up the gravel and see “ dirt particles “ that’s GOOD. Leave that in there. Only remove left over food, his waste, dead plants, etc. a lot of people think the stuff I mentioned when you start the tank is bad but in reality it’s good. Once you research this cycle mentioned by me and another poster you will understand.
I don’t know what type of filter you were using but if you are have a friend or family member that has a established tank you can use their filter cartridge or maybe they’re sponge filter if that’s what they use and that will really jumpstart or even cycle your tank very quickly .

PS
Love your tank! And what breed of dog do you have?
Be back later

 

I’ll go ahead and explain the cycle in detail like SherriX2 ’s post began doing—

When your betta breathes, eats (leftover food), and poops, he creates ammonia. This is bad stuff. It will make your fish sick and burn their gills, and can even kill the fish over 2 ppm. However the reading on the water test kit is a bit skewed depending on the pH, but that’s a separate conversation.

Then, bacteria settles and grows in the filter and eats the ammonia, but produces nitrites. This is also bad and deadly for your fish. You can kickstart this bacteria by buying it in liquid form, as Tetra “Safe Start” or Seachem “Stability”

Finally, another type of bacteria settles and grows in the filter and eats these nitrites. Their waste is nitrates, which is only bad for your fish in high ammounts. To get rid of nitrates and keep the levels stable, you do your weekly water changes (about 25-50% i’d say for that small of a tank). You want your nitrate count to be at about 20. Plants also help with nitrates by eating them as food.

In the end, you will have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and around 20 nitrates. But, while your tank is cycling, you will need to do 50% water changes daily (it would be every other day but the tank is small) to keep the ammonia and nitrites as low as possible to prevent killing or harming your fish. After that your water changes can be weekly.

Small side note, is your betta’s tail ripped or “raggedy” looking on the end? I can’t tell if he’s a double tail or if that’s a rip. Poor water quality causes finrot, which means your betta’s fins rot away (hence the name lol). Most cases can be fixed by pristine water via daily water changes.

 

Forgot to mention the food questions. #1. It's okay if he goes a day or 2 without eating, some people fast their betta for 24 hrs once a week. Bettas are Notorious for getting constipated. Another important reason to soak his pellets ( I only soak mine in bottles water or water I used my chlorine remover with ) I feed the MINI pellets, if feeding twice a day only give 2-3 at a time. I will try to show you the brands I have , I have 4 brands I switch up with. Plus I feed minI Bug bites, frozen ( thrawed) bloodworms & brine shrimp . I don’t use the freeze dried one personally)
I can’t stress enough how important it is to test your water parameters right now especially since you are just starting up your tank. You have to know your ammonia ,nitrates and ph level right now. Most pet shops will test for free. Just make sure they aren’t using the test strips because they can be wrong and make sure the Person doing the testing knows what they are doing. For example ... ammonia & nitrates take 5 min each for test results and the nitrates test solution must be shaken for 1 minute before the 5 minute test even starts and the test solution bottle #2 needs ( nitrates) has to be shaken up for 30 seconds before it can be used.
He might not be eating because he doesn’t feel good if his water Quality isn’t correct right now .
I know all this might seem overwhelming , but once the tank is cycled you will enjoy this hobby so much! You just need to have a lot of patience in the beginning.
I really have to go now LOL!

HI there! Bettas are wonderful creatures and you have a pretty one! I’d love to help you out with your first one!

To begin, do you know about the nitrogen cycle? It is very important and is what will keep your fish alive, healthy, and happy You might want to do some research, but if it is too confusing, one of us can simplify it for you

How much food are you feeding, what brand, and how many times per day? (Sorry if you said that already, I didn’t catch it)

Bettas make bubble nests, meaning the blow bubbles in one spot repeatedly until it forms a big mass. This is my boy’s nest currently—

Reggie’s massive bubble nest

• aquafrogg
• Jan 3, 2019
• 5

It continues on the other sode of that corner. He’s so cute. He works on his bubble nest every...

So if you see bubbles don’t be alarmed!

You guys have a lovely little home for him. It wil be perfect for him! However, if money allows, bigger is always better. In Germany, bettas aren’t allowed to be in anything less than 10 gallons. But if you don’t have the money for it, no worries!

Also, your boy’s behavior doesn’t seem abnormal. He’s just begging for food and playing with his reflection as he gets used to the tank.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any questions!

Thank you so much for picking up where I stopped. I’m rushing and in the car , have to try & post at stop lights LOL. While I was waiting to leave , I pulled up this site and as soon as I started posting , realized I had to go.

 

I’d like to add about the feeding that there’s a difference between underfeeding and not overfeeding. Your betta shouldn’t be scrawny but he also shouldn’t be bloating. Bettas have a natural fat deposit by the tail (their body shape kind of looks like a peanut but not as dramatic lol) and if you don’t see that shape then you’re probably underfeeding. If he looks like a sausage or a balloon then cut back a little.

With pellets it is best to feed around the size of their eyeball after soaking them. This is because they will still expand in the stomach. Betta’s stomachs are around the size of their eyeball (although they’re super stretchy) and feeding too many pellets will cause impaction and bloating.

However with frozen or live foods that don’t expand you can feed more than the size of their eye. My betta will usually eat around 4 whole bloodworms per feeding. Sometimes more. I judge based on how big his tummy gets.

But take all of this information with a grain of salt. You know your betta best. Use your best judgement!

 

I also judge how much to feed by the looks of the stomach. Over time you will learn your individual betta.
Anyone have any pictures to show her where the stomach is located? And the area Bubbles _Fins was talking about?
BTW Bubbles_Fins.... your betta is beautiful! Crowntails have become my favorite now, 6 out 7 of mine crowns

 

3

Forgot to mention the food questions. #1. It's okay if he goes a day or 2 without eating, some people fast their betta for 24 hrs once a week. Bettas are Notorious for getting constipated. Another important reason to soak his pellets ( I only soak mine in bottles water or water I used my chlorine remover with ) I feed the MINI pellets, if feeding twice a day only give 2-3 at a time. I will try to show you the brands I have , I have 4 brands I switch up with. Plus I feed minI Bug bites, frozen ( thrawed) bloodworms & brine shrimp . I don’t use the freeze dried one personally)
I can’t stress enough how important it is to test your water parameters right now especially since you are just starting up your tank. You have to know your ammonia ,nitrates and ph level right now. Most pet shops will test for free. Just make sure they aren’t using the test strips because they can be wrong and make sure the Person doing the testing knows what they are doing. For example ... ammonia & nitrates take 5 min each for test results and the nitrates test solution must be shaken for 1 minute before the 5 minute test even starts and the test solution bottle #2 needs ( nitrates) has to be shaken up for 30 seconds before it can be used.
He might not be eating because he doesn’t feel good if his water Quality isn’t correct right now .
I know all this might seem overwhelming , but once the tank is cycled you will enjoy this hobby so much! You just need to have a lot of patience in the beginning.
I really have to go now LOL!

Bug bites are awesome! Good choice! I agree with others in that you need a good liquid test kit like the API Master test kit AND you actually need to change water (25%) at LEAST once a week. As water evaporates, minerals and salts accumulate and are not good for freshwater fish. In addition, your tank didn't go through the nitrogen cycle before you added the fish, so now it will as the fish waste breaks down, and water changes will help keep ammonia and nitrite levels down as this happens.

 

I also judge how much to feed by the looks of the stomach. Over time you will learn your individual betta.
Anyone have any pictures to show her where the stomach is located? And the area Bubbles _Fins was talking about?
BTW Bubbles_Fins.... your betta is beautiful! Crowntails have become my favorite now, 6 out 7 of mine crowns

Thank you! I used to hate crowntails but Reggie has changed my mind. I might be biased though lol

I guess I’ll use an old picture of him where it’s obvious to show the body shape I’m talking about—



I circled the fat deposit. The stomach is that area right behind his gills that extends down past the bottom of his gills. Which is also where the ventral fins are located. Sorry to bombard you with so much information OP!

 

Oh my goodness!! Thank you so much for all the info! I’m so grateful. I’ve never had a fish before and a friend of a friend gave me a list of all the things we needed to get for the fish (tank, filter, heater, etc.) but I’m discovering there were a lot of things he left out.

So, let me see if I can answer all the questions.
1. We do have city water. I used tap water with a water conditioner to fill the tank.
2. I didn’t know anything about cycling/water testing/levels, etc. so y’all are informing me now. I will certainly get a water test kit ASAP and hope that I haven’t done too much damage already.
3. I use Betta Buffet pellets and feed 3 pellets twice a day (morning and evening). I’m glad to know about the constipation issues as I have slipped him an extra pellet here and there cause it felt like he was begging. I was soaking them, but he kept missing them and I figured it wasn’t good to have so much leftover food sitting in the gravel (I know that sure now that I’ve read all these replies). So I had stopped soaking but I will start back up.
4. I must admit, SherriX2, that I’m a little overwhelmed by all that info! As a newbie some of it is a little over my head. But I will do my best to research cycling and change he water as soon as I can. Does anyone have a good resource for step by step water changing? Like a YouTube video with instructions? I’ll do some searching tonight.
5. How often do you feed the other foods? (Bloodworms etc.?)

Thank you all, again, SO much!!

 

Well done with the Omega One. That’s a great brand!

I personally feed my betta frozen bloodworms 3 days of the week and the rest pellets. Sometimes if there’s a gnat in the house i’ll put it in the tank and he’ll eat it as a special treat. And if I’m working on trick training I’ll do freeze dried bloodworms for a feeding so that I don’t overfeed. That’s rare though. It’s not recommended to feed freeze dried blodworms regularly.

This is his typical feeding schedule:

Sunday: bloodworms
Monday: pellets
Tuesday: bloodworms
Wednesday: pellets
Thursday: pellets
Friday: bloodworms
Saturday: pellets

As for the water changes, try LifeWithPets on youtube. Shiela makes great videos all about bettas and her other fish.

Hope this helps!

 

Well done with the Omega One. That’s a great brand!

I personally feed my betta frozen bloodworms 3 days of the week and the rest pellets. Sometimes if there’s a gnat in the house i’ll put it in the tank and he’ll eat it as a special treat. And if I’m working on trick training I’ll do freeze dried bloodworms for a feeding so that I don’t overfeed. That’s rare though. It’s not recommended to feed freeze dried blodworms regularly.

This is his typical feeding schedule:

Sunday: bloodworms
Monday: pellets
Tuesday: bloodworms
Wednesday: pellets
Thursday: pellets
Friday: bloodworms
Saturday: pellets

As for the water changes, try LifeWithPets on youtube. Shiela makes great videos all about bettas and her other fish.

Hope this helps!

Thanks! Bubbles_and_Fins!

 

While your tank is cycling, you will want to feed your betta sparingly so solid waste is limited-What he'll eat in 2 minutes-and do water changes often enough to keep ammonia and nitrite (NO2) levels below 2. That may be as often as every day. You can purchase Quick Start or another bacteria additive to help establish bacteria faster and use Prime to help ameliorate the bad effects of the ammonia. Complete cycling can take several weeks, so get big bottles and follow label directions closely. Get the master test kit and get some numbers.

 

I used the Splendid Betta Complete Water Conditioner in the water. Is that anything like Prime or the QuickStart?

 

The food in your picture is good, but don’t waste your time w buying water conditioner that’s claimed to be for only betta’s . They usually cost more and you can just use other tropical freshwater products. Try to find some Kordon AmQuel Plus, it will take care of all the chlorine,and *chloramines ,Nitrates,Nitrites and Ammonia (it’s building up in your tank because the tank it’s cycled yet. BUT this product might throw off your test result. ( explains this later ) So test your water before you use this the FIRST time to see where your levels are. This product will really help protect your fish from getting ammonia burns in case you don’t get a chance to change your water when the ammonia/nitrates raise while the tank is cycling. For my “ must have “ box,this bottle will be in it
If you can’t find this, get some Prime made by Seachem. This product will also work good during your cycling. You can order these off of Amazon if your local pets places don’t have them.
You can also get Aquasafe made by Tetra from Walmart, this product will remove Chlorine from your tap water. Walmart also sells Stress Coat made by Wellfish , I recommend getting this while your cycling because it helps add back the slime coating on your betta and it also removes chlorine.
That’s all I’m going teach ya right now because we have been telling you a lot today.
Once you get comfortable , we need to start working on your “ sick basket “

* Some cities add chlorine and chloramine to the water system. Chloramine is a combo of chlorine and ammonia .



Pictures of the food I fed, pellets daily, frozen bloodworms once a week,Frozen brine shrimp once a week ( soaked in water first ).
In June someone gave my daughter a betta as a gift He would only eat flake food & frozen bloodworms,so now I keep flake on hand in case I get another like that. But I like pellets better then flakes.
I order One 3.5 oz of minI floating pellets from chewy , but they sent me 6 by mistake! I’ll have food for years now LOL! ( I called chewy to let them know they sent me 5 extra bottles for free and they said to just keep them )

I used the Splendid Betta Complete Water Conditioner in the water. Is that anything like Prime or the QuickStart?

No, no where close to the same stuff

View attachment 516253

One more thing.... Does your tank have a top? Betta’s can jump up to 3 inches so tops are really important. Plus tops help keep the heat in and slow down water evaporation .

 

Prime is similar to amquel in that they both detoxify the ammonia and nitrites (but still leave them available for bacteria in a cycling tank) and neutralize chlorine and chloramines. Quick start is bottled nitrifying bacteria that can help boost bacteria levels when you are cycling your tank and may help speed things up and the Betta water conditioner just removes chlorine and chloramine (an organic compound containing a chlorine atom bonded to nitrogen) and makes the water safe to use during water changes.

 

Well done with the Omega One. That’s a great brand!

I personally feed my betta frozen bloodworms 3 days of the week and the rest pellets. Sometimes if there’s a gnat in the house i’ll put it in the tank and he’ll eat it as a special treat. And if I’m working on trick training I’ll do freeze dried bloodworms for a feeding so that I don’t overfeed. That’s rare though. It’s not recommended to feed freeze dried blodworms regularly.

This is his typical feeding schedule:

Sunday: bloodworms
Monday: pellets
Tuesday: bloodworms
Wednesday: pellets
Thursday: pellets
Friday: bloodworms
Saturday: pellets

As for the water changes, try LifeWithPets on youtube. Shiela makes great videos all about bettas and her other fish.

Hope this helps!

I LOVE the solid divider from this site, I ordered & use one in 1 of tanks for 2 of my 3 bettas.