Swollen Gill, Lump, Clamped Fins

[TeenyTinyTofu]

I was at Super Walmart earlier, the same one I adopted Taco from earlier this year, and of course, had to stop by the betta rack. After sifting through cups of betta's that were no longer alive (and yes, I notified the manager... again), I found two in the back that were beautiful, but in rough shape.

First, is fish number one. He has a lump, which is on both sides of his body, but more protruding on one particular side. He also has a swollen gill that he keeps open... but he can swim fine. He's not swimming lopsided. He is, however, swimming around with his mouth open.

This is Fish 1:

You can see the swelling here (and his mouth, which as I said, is always open)...





And you can see how he keeps the gill open here (you can also see the lump on his side)...



And here's the lump on his other side, which is protruding worse on this side than the other...





Can y'all tell me what's going on with him, and can it be fixed/controlled? He's in a 2.5 gallon by himself right now.

And this is Fish 2. The only thing that seems to be going on with him at the moment is clamped fins at the top. Does he look alright otherwise? Is there anything I can do for his fin?

[Adastra]

Poor guys. The only thing I can really recommend is clean, warm water and perhaps some methylene blue, if you can find it. It should help them get over any ammonia poisoning caused by walmart and help prevent secondary infections. Good luck, and let us know if they develop more specific symptoms.

[doggyhog]

Poor darlings...

I'd recommend the same as Adastra.

Hope they do well, keep us updated!

[TeenyTinyTofu]

Originally Posted by Adastra

Poor guys. The only thing I can really recommend is clean, warm water and perhaps some methylene blue, if you can find it. It should help them get over any ammonia poisoning caused by walmart and help prevent secondary infections. Good luck, and let us know if they develop more specific symptoms.

I didn't even see y'alls replies, sorry about that!

So, you think it's ammonia posioning that's caused the swollen gill? The lump in his side, is that a swimbladder issue? I'll be in the city tomorrow and will look for the methylene blue at the stores.

Thankfully both have good appetites, can swim straight and submerge, and are active, so that's a good sign.

[Adastra]

I think that the lump you're seeing on the one fish is an abnormal swim bladder. If it's functioning normally, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, but to me it seems like the swim bladder is shorter than it's supposed to be, but still holds the same amount of air as a normal swim bladder, causing it to protrude. Even with a non-functional swim bladder many fish live long healthy lives--so it shouldn't be too much of an issue unless it ruptures somehow and gets infected.