Raised Scales On Head Only..

[Mr. Gone]

5-gallon hex (male Betta with no current tankmates)

ph=7.2
amm=0
NI=0
NA=10
temp=76~80

saturday i changed Aang's water, afterward it tested as above. behavior seemed normal.
sunday, Aang's head looked awful. its mostly on the left side of his head, but some on top and bottom. the scales look ruffled up. like they've been brushed the wrong way. kind of pine-cone like, but (and i stress his body looks great) only on his head. no dis-coloration or swelling anywhere. so i've ruled out dropsy. it isn't cottony or fungal looking. so it doesn't seem like columnaris. his scales are simply sticking up and out on that side. it makes his head look mis-shapen. the area is similar to the 'cap' of an oranda in appearance, only it isn't a 'growth' it just his scales sticking up and out. his eyes look normal, so...no popeye. the scales aren't bloody or damaged in any noticeable way... so i'm at a loss.
i changed 20% of the water again today, added 1mL of mela-fix and am keeping an eye on him.

any ideas, experiences, or recommendations?

 

[snakeskinner]

possibly dropsy. Normally when it gets to that point there's nothing you can do. I have never cured a fish of dropsy once I've noticed it was sick. I'm not sure how to tell in advance. Normally dropsy is caused by poor water quality. Kyle

 

[Boohoo]

The last goldfish I bought (an Oranda) pineconed immediatly after he was in my tank. It lasted for 3 days, but he was eating and swimming fine. After that it passed and he's been fine ever since. Don't know if it had something to do with the different water chemistry or what.

 

[Mr. Gone]

its been 2 days.....

as i said above, his body wasn't pineconed, nor bloated. i've seen dropsy once, and it looked much different. this was just scales on his head (esp. the left side) that were sticking up&out. like when you brush a cat's fur the wrong way.

i decided parasites were most likely the cause after more research. so i bought a broad spectrum "shotgun style" parasite med. jungle's parasite clear. i put half a tab in his 5gal tank, and the scales are going down. it isn't completely normal yet, but it's definately improved.