There in the same tank, just separated with a divider, and they are both males.

You know I've owned a lot of bettas over time....and something I've found was that when I get them home, some eat, and some don't. Maybe bring pellets to the pet store, and see if they eat pellets BEFORE you get them home.

However I had one betta that insisted on eating blood worms. He wouldn't touch the pellets.

Ask the store what they feed their bettas and buy the same food. Bettas are picky eaters and if you suddenly change their food they will not eat.
They will go crazy over frozen brine shrimp or blood worms. Change their diet.

My son's beta would not eat the beta food. He started feeding it bits of meat from dinner--chicken, beef or whatever and it eats that. Probably not a healthy diet, but he's still alive after many months which he would not be otherwise.

First, all fish will eat they just won't eat what you are offering.

They get stressed (they should not be able to view one another as in divided tank, as in the wild they would not - one would be chased from the others territory not being forced to deal in aggressive mode constantly - adrenal stress hormones affect metabolisms ie eating so on.

All betta's should have plants - the plants will grow little micro organisms and you'll see them picking at these.

Dried food is horrible - like us eating dried up cereal, plus it swells up once inside fish - their eye is as small as their stomach so they get constipated down the line. I once caught a little moth and went to feed it to a female betta in a gigantic sword planted globe - she was in it as she was a super jumper, lol. Before I got my hand down near the water she flew out of the water and got her "bug".

In the wild they are insect eaters. So find frozen such as worms, mosquito so on and mix it up. Feed a pinch (let it thaw) (I chop it up with knife while frozen, use my finger tips to warm up and tweezer (blunt nose so not to hurt betta) and let it hang over water, she notices and that's it.

One meal a day is fine, but I offer a pinch of flake plant food for digestion in later afternoon (much better then dried pellot, put one in water cup and see how huge they get and full of filler foods like wheat and crud)...

I also now grow my own worms so on (found on aquabid, ebay) a small amount of work to feed my fish the proper way.

Socks, your table food is probably much better (but may need vitamins to round out, they make fish vitamins) as most of the waste from our meat markets and cats/dogs killed at pounds are sold to commercial dog/cat/fish suppliers. Not all, but unless you really check the source, you never know.

That's why I grow my own fish foods. Or second best is frozen, then flake.

The betta when feeling secure and offered the right foods will eat. (they can go a while before starving but again pellet food is, well would you eat it, lol.

I'm having the same problem. Only mi fish is completely gray w red patches EVERYWHERE. It will stare at the food and just woont eat it. I use the pellets. Oh btw it has a bacterial infection. Yaa it's pretty sickkk

I observed the same with my betta too. Don't always feed the same food (like blood worms, pellets etc.).you need to change the food once a month. Don't feel amazed, I normally feed with chicken flesh (cut it very small so it can eat) once a month.Good thing is it started eating blood worms again after feeding with chicken flesh.