Scaleless head that won't heal

Hey! I've had a betta fish for about a month or a little less, and I believe for quite awhile he's had lost scales on his head. The spot is a bit red and pink, and I think it has only gotten redder I've tried using stress coat, daily cleanings (of waste) frequent water changes, etc but not much has changed.

His behavior is quite normal, he doesn't act itchy or the like. He is rather skittish and shy (definitely not exactly a betta I would call particularly aggressive) but he doesnt seem to be stressed out. The water quality is all around good, tank is cycled, no great amounts of algae, 10 gal tank with lots of plants and no strong current..

He is a PetSmart fish, so it's somewhat expected for him to not be the healthiest; he did have a few scale loss patches on his body but those healed. He looks much better than he did before excluding his head.

But anyway, excuse the ramble;; how can I help him? These are the best photos I got out of the 40 I took (if only you could tell a fish "sit"..)

 

It doesnt look very clear, but it doesn't look like he's lost scales. Bettas can have different colored head scales than the rest of their body, usually quite a few shades darker of lighter than the rest of their bodies

Does it look like it doesn't have scales? Your bettas seems to be multicolored, and therefore could certainly have different colored scales on his head. If the fish has lost scales, they will grow back, and might grow back a different color, depending on when it was lost, so your fish might very well be healthy.

I'd say to keep an eye out, but if he doesn't show any abnormal signs of illness, I'd say it's probably fine, and even if he has lost scales, they might eventually grow back.

 

It doesnt look very clear, but it doesn't look like he's lost scales. Bettas can have different colored head scales than the rest of their body, usually quite a few shades darker of lighter than the rest of their bodies

Does it look like it doesn't have scales? Your bettas seems to be multicolored, and therefore could certainly have different colored scales on his head. If the fish has lost scales, they will grow back, and might grow back a different color, depending on when it was lost, so your fish might very well be healthy.

I'd say to keep an eye out, but if he doesn't show any abnormal signs of illness, I'd say it's probably fine, and even if he has lost scales, they might eventually grow back.

Thank you!! Happy to know that it may just be coloring, have a good rest of your day or night ❤

 

It doesn't look like he's missing scales, but there might be something up with the scales on his head. They almost appear inflamed or something. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable on fish infections/diseases can help.

 

Ah, that’s just his coloring. The dark spots on his head are normal. You can see other areas on the body- some patches of blue are darker than others, that pattern seems to extend to his head.