No, no melafix.. no meds what so ever... you want to push him over the edge? Sometimes the best medicine to do is simply 'nothing' but the bare minimum. The shock alone of moving from poor (very poor) conditions to basic good water Q can be good but also leathal - depends on how long he was kept so poorly. At any rate - good water Q and aeration would be the first place to begin trying to encourage his recovery. No food unless he behaves as if he's hungry (you know, that cute puppy begging they do), and no added stressors - like useless (unappropriate) meds such as melafix (i.e.: lets add some snake oil that coats his gills so he can't process O2 (this includes 'stress coat') or add some chem like Primafix that taxes his kidney's for not). If he shows improvement in a couple of days, assess his health and if, only if, he appears to have parasites or the possibility of a bacterial infection (minor scrapes/abrasions/finrot/etc) begin to treat - with the appropriate medicine!
If you 'feel' you must do something to make 'yourself' feel better - add salt to 0.3% (table salt will do in a pinch)... no more than 1 week then bring the level down to below 0.1%.
Feeders? what were you thinking? Never mind... I know - but it was wrong - sick/stressed fish won't eat and tempting them is fruitless - those feeders only add to the bio load - remove them.
He may already be dead,... and if so - sorry, atleast you tried. If not... do you're best to get him better, a little tlc and fresh water with optimal oxygen levels... this can do wonders if he has the strength to carry on. O's are pretty hardy and tend to 'pout' if they are not feeling well.
i really hope he makes it. make me feel like i accomplished something.
