Older betta question

I've had my betta Echo for 3 years, so he's probably going on 4 years old. The last month-ish (maybe two) he's started resting on the bottom all the time. He swims to the surface to breathe often and switches resting spots pretty often too. When I feed him, he swims up, but can't seem to stay at the surface very long at all. He'll grab like one piece of food and have to return to the bottom, rest for a few minutes, then come back up to finish. He has an appetite though. He swims normally when he does swim, so I haven't thought it could be swim bladder disease. Maybe decline with age if that happens with swim bladders? His breathing when he's on the bottom looks normal, not too fast. Color is still pretty vibrant as well. Today I did notice a gray spot on his head, attaching a pic just in case. Might just be some color fading happening. Nothing new has been introduced to the tank.
His parameters are fine, I do approximately 30% water changes a week, and he lives in a 10 gallon with live plants. Last week I lowered the water level to about 6 gallons to try and help him get to the surface and I'm continuing with 30% changes weekly. Tank is heated around 80 degrees and filtered and cycled. He was eating high quality pellets most days, brine shrimp or bloodworms twice a week. Now I'm giving him the freeze dried food every day, since it seems easier for him to grab one larger piece than a few smaller ones. I've always fasted him once or twice a week as well so he doesn't overeat.
Is this normal for older fish or does it sound like he's suffering? I don't want him to be in pain but I don't know where the line is between normal old age symptoms and large quality of life decline. This is my first betta that I researched and cared for properly, so I haven't had a fish reach old age before. Help is appreciated <3

Sounds like old age. If you reduce the water level a few inches it will be easier for him to get to the surface.

You can try doing a bigger water change every day for a few weeks and see if that helps him.

He's a middling old Betta, so he will slow down. My first thought was overfeeding, but you fast him regularly, so it's unlikely to be that. Well done!

As he ages, he'll be more prone to skin blemishes and small infections, so the water quality has to be kept high. He's probably at the stage where when he needs to go to the surface to breathe, he thinks "Oh my knees." Or maybe the Betta version of that...

Colin_T said:

Sounds like old age. If you reduce the water level a few inches it will be easier for him to get to the surface.

You can try doing a bigger water change every day for a few weeks and see if that helps him.

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He’s declined more this week, really not moving around much at all and not responding to stimuli. I’m guessing it’s his time? Thank you for your help.