Does my tank still have ich???

[biofish]

So I started treatment 2 weeks ago today.
The first week I accidentally left my carbon filter in the tank during the treatment so it completely ruined my efforts. I have scaleless fish, so I used api super ich cure at half does. I got to my third half does when my local aquarium asked if our filter had carbon. And. It does. Rip. (I did, however, raise the tank temp up to 83° for the treatment so at least I did that right).
Second week: I removed the carbon filter and did three more half doses every 48 hours after a water change. I was hesitant to do the final fourth dose because of the three previously nerfed doses. So I didn’t do the fourth dose in fear of overdosing.
After the second week I put the carbon filter back in and did a 70% water change.
And my fish are still dying. I lost my last otocinclus yesterday and a guppy today.
so since the ich outbreak I’ve had 3 otocinclus die and 5 guppies die. So 8 fish total.
Weirdly enough, it was my plain guppies that died and my super pretty ones still look healthy as ever. My pleco, glo zebra danios, and Cory cat are all fine as well.
I took my water to the fish shop to get my water tested, both the old water before the massive water change and after new water. Both came back identical expect a bit of change in the hardness: but everything was at a good level.
My Ich-x medication just came in the mail and I’m seriously worried there might still be ich in the tank. I started lowering the temp of the tank a couple days ago and it’s currently hanging around 80° And I am very willing to put the temp back up slowly if I need to.
I’m lost and frustrated because I don’t know why everyone is dying. I don’t know if there was some soap residue in my hand when I put them in the tank. I don’t know if its ich. I don’t know if my plain guppies were more incest-ly bred and therefore had weaker immunity. I know for sure that the otocinclus were the ones that brought the ich into my tank. I had them for about a week before my tank broke out like a choir in church. And when I went back to the fish store their otocinclus tank had an outbreak which the store owners hadn’t noticed yet.
Should I redose with ich-x? This is seriously making my depression flare up again and I’ve cried more times than I care to admit these last couple weeks.

 

[Byron]

I am one who does not recommend the use of any so-called ich medicatin. Some fish can be affected, some killed, by these medications. I've seen it myself many years ago. If it is ich, heat and only heat should clear it up. Raise the tank water temperature to 86F/30C and leave it there for two weeks. The fish mentioned can manage with this, and better than they likely can with the other stuff.

You can and should do water changes, siphoning the substrate during each. Keep the temp raised.

For the future, if you have numbers for tests always include them so members will know; a "good level" may or may not be good to those with disease experience. All data provided helps members assess the issue better.

 

[Corypower]

You can’t completely remove ich ,in fact ich is always in a tank you just keep the fish from getting it

 

[Colin_T]

Are you sure the fish had white spot to begin with?
Any pictures of the sick, dead and living fish so we can check them for disease?

As Byron said, if it is white spot, just raise the water temp to 30C and keep it there for 2 weeks, or at least 1 week after all the white dots have gone.

You can kill white spot and once its dead, it should not reappear unless it is introduced into the tank again.

 

[Corypower]

Yup some illnesses look like ich such as velvet or columnaris,treatment would be different so best to check which it is

 

[Corypower]

If it is ich I urge you to be mentally prepared ich kills fast

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

So you have already lost 8 fish...
You then say that you still have Corys, a Plec, Glo-Zebra Danios and guppies left.
How big is your tank and how many fish do you have left in it?

Way back in the Olden days, it was recognised that there has to be balance in a successful fish tank. It was also recognised that over-stocking would be a problem and a common idea was that fish would die, until the numbers were reduced to a level that re-established 'balance'!
Today, we are aware of the Nitrogen Cycle and the complexities of the ecosystems in our little glass boxes and learn to respect these and, as a consequence, avoid over-stocking a tank.
A well-stocked tank may look the business and runs well, until suddenly, it doesn't...

Sadly, diseases exist everywhere and all the time, just waiting for a moment to pounce.
When it does, it'll rip through your tank's population like a wildfire on steroids.
When it does, what often happens is the fishkeeper is recommended to buy medications and to throw it into the tank. Often, this solution doesn't work and fish die.
What often happens then is that the fish, or the fish seller, get the blame.

Increasing the temperature is great advice. Also, be sure you have good aeration and feel free to increase this if you can.
You also need to test your water parameters regularly. If nothing else, this is a great habit to get into and, in future, you'll be able to anticipate problems before they occur and nip 'em in the bud.

I'm sorry for your losses and they are painful lessons for you to take on your road to being an aquarist, fully enjoying this marvellous hobby of ours.

 

[Corypower]

The best cure is often as simple as a water change

 

[biofish]

The day after the first two fish suddenly died the three otos were absolutely covered in white spots. I told my sister and she googled it and it just spiraled. The white spots disappeared quickly after I medicated, even with the charcoal filter still in place. The I didn’t see a single spot on any of my other fish though and after that initial outbreak of white spots I haven’t seen any again. The guppies were largely asymptomatic and just died. A couple of them suddenly had tattered fins; and they died quickly after. So I don’t know if the stress of the ich + the medication created an environment for fin rot to piggyback.

a couple of you have mentioned making the tank 30° C, it I’m also nervous to do that because I’ve read that that’s the absolute max temp my Cory can live in and my tank does have the tendency to warm up slightly in the middle of the day. I’m worried the tank would snake up a couple degrees and completely boil my Cory. That’s why I had the tank at 83°F.

I won’t hesitate to say I had an overstocked tank. The otos were the last group. I hadn’t planned on getting the otos because I had the pleco; but the hair algae was getting absolutely out of control and my pleco never went to the upper half of my tank where it was the worst. So I think the otos tipped the balance or the hammer was already falling and the otos just didn’t help. I don’t blame the fish store at all, and when I told them that their oto tank also had an outbreak (lots of white dots like my otos) they immediately took the fish to a quarantine and put up a sign to not buy from that tank.

 

[Corypower]

If your house gets to 30degrees you don’t need a heater

 

[Corypower]

You need to practice some restraint when buying fish

 

[Corypower]

Also I would tackle one problem at a time , algae isn’t solve by just dumping fish in it requires more precision (sorry if i am too blunt)

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

The otos were the last group. I hadn’t planned on getting the otos because I had the pleco; but the hair algae was getting absolutely out of control and my pleco never went to the upper half of my tank where it was the worst.

As @Byron has already said, it's never good plan to buy a fish to solve a problem and plecs perhaps don't always eat hair algae, if ever.
Managing fish waste (algae food) and the lighting are better ways to manage algae.
Plecs make a lot of waste and grow quickly...is your tank big enough for a plec? (What sort do you have?)

Whilst admitting to an over-stocked tank, you still haven't said what you've got in your tank and what size tank you have. This info would be necessary in order to give you good advice. We're guessing otherwise.

 

[Corypower]

If you have an outbreak don’t add new fish just deal with the ich first then wait a few months before even considering a new fish

 

[Byron]

a couple of you have mentioned making the tank 30° C, it I’m also nervous to do that because I’ve read that that’s the absolute max temp my Cory can live in and my tank does have the tendency to warm up slightly in the middle of the day. I’m worried the tank would snake up a couple degrees and completely boil my Cory. That’s why I had the tank at 83°F.

There is a huge difference between keeping fish permanently at "x" temperature as opposed to raising the temperature to "x" for a specific treatment which will be temporary.

Corydoras should never be permanently maintained at or above 80F/27C. Increased temperature due to summer heat waves is not permanent (we hope), and increasing the temperature for two weeks to treat a specific problem like ich is manageable for most fish, certainly Corydoras species. A temperature of 30C/86F is recommended to deal with ich because at that water temperature the ich in its free swimming stage will be killed. This temperature has considerably less negative effect on the cories and other fish than any medication. Ensure good surface disturbance to keep the water well oxygenated.