Any suggestions?

[foshixxle]

So I just ran to petco to pick up Duck Soup mix for one of my ferrets and I (stupidly) went by the fish section just for kicks. Unfortunately, all of their goldfish were very ill. Some had ich, ulcers, fungus, fin rot, ammonia burn, etc. and many had several problems. One or two of the fish looked fairly healthy still and I convinced a staff member to give me one of the better looking ones for free as they felt "they're probably all going to die anyway."  

Anyways long story short, I brought this guy home and put him in a 10 gal bare bottom by himself. He (/she/it) isn't displaying any symptoms yet. I was hoping for some suggestions that would give him the best shot at making it through.

I didn't run the petco water before I dumped it down the sink, but my quarantine tank is as follows.
1. Test results for the following:
    Ammonia Level? 0.25
    Nitrite Level? 0
    Nitrate Level (Before and After WC's)? Before:10-15 After: 0-5
    Ph (in tank and out of tap)? In tank: 7.4 Out of tap: 7.6
    GH and KH? Unknown

2. Tank Size?  How long has it been running?  How many gallons? Been running mostly fishless for 3 months, 10 gallons.

3. Name and size of your filters? Aqueon 15

4. How many fish in the tank?  Their size? 1 fantail(?) approx. 1 in.

5. How often and how much water do you change? 25% every 5-7 days

6. Water additives or conditioners used? I use Seachem Prime after every water change

7. What do you feed your fish? Aqueon Goldfish Granules, frozen Goldfish Mix, and occasionally a small amount of frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp.

8. Any medications added to the tank? I've used Mardel Coppersafe to ward off the ich that the rest of the fish there had. I also have API Melafix and Pimafix but I haven't used them yet.

9. Any new fish added to the tank?  When? Just him, earlier today.

10. Any new plants added to the tank? Nope

11. Any unusual behavior from the fish?
   None yet, he's very active and friendly. As far as I can tell he's acting exactly like a 100% healthy fish.

12. Well, city or RO water used for WC's? City.

[zookey]

First off I would get rid of the copper safe.  You can treat Ich easily (and much safer) with plain old aquarium salt.  I know there is a stickie around here for that.

I would keep a close eye on the water params seeing that you are showing amonia.

My suggestions would be to do a couple of large water changes to rid the tank of the copper safe and then add 1 tsp of aquarium salt to help releive stress of the new fish.  If you have access to a heater I would think about bringing the temps up to the higher 70's.  I would also feed some antibacterial foods such as metromeds from goldfish connection.  After 14 days of medicated foods I would treat with Prazi also available from goldfish connection.

After that I would just watch him carefully to see if anything else shows up.  Definately would keep him QTed for at LEAST 6 weeks before letting him into the main tank.

Best of luck with the new fish.

[SeaWitch]

Yep, everything that Zookey said.   CopperSafe should really only be used with "hard to get rid of" external parasites, such as Velvet.  Aquarium salt is much safer for your cycle and alot easier on the fish's system.  Congrats on your rescue!!!!

[Kaida]

There's a stickie in this section called "The Goldfish Rescuer's Guide" It lays out pretty much every thing you need for a typical rescue fish.

[foshixxle]

Okay, I've found the rescue sticky and I'm following the guidelines there.

Just an update on him, I've done two 60% water changes since I last posted, first right after zookey suggested it and then again yesterday. I gave him a salt bath which he tolerated well, and I've ordered some metromeds, but they haven't arrived yet. He's doing very well, still not showing any symptoms of anything. No fin flicking or lethargy and no apparent signs of parasites. I'm hopeful.

[Kaida]

keeping my fingers crossed for him.  Hopefully he escaped petco unscathed.  I hate that place. The one in Reno (closest to me) sells some inbred-hillbilly looking fish that are always riddled with disease. I feel bad for them but I refuse to buy anything from petco. I can't support a business that treats animals as bad as the Reno store does.