does anyone try to rescue corals

[Sk8r]

Get them away from each other and keep your calcium 420, mg 1350 and alk 8.3 with extremely low nitrate, under 5. I've had a brain so very dead I used it as structural rock suddenly decide to re-emerge from its own skeleton (which was old) and grow again. Stability and not wobbling is important. Corals don't like to knock about. If you have to do surgery to separate two, make it fast and well-planned, and then treat the injured pieces to good water and stable conditions. I've had a popped euphyllia head regrow skeleton, once I stabilized it.

 

[ThRoewer]

From a respectable and otherwise knowledgable store, I might try rescuing a fish that I would want anyhow if I think I can rescue it and I get a deal on it. After all, a fish is a vertebrate and can feel pain.

I would however never rescue fish or coral from a store as you describe it. If they continue like this they will sooner or later go out of business because even the most uninformed customers will either wisen-up or quit the hobby after a string of failures. Rather sooner than later they will run out of gullible customers to exploit and I would not want to do anything to delay their deserved demise.