Treating tank for ick, but worried about pleco in tank!

Tank

What is the water volume of the tank? 65 gallons
How long has the tank been running? 4 weeks
Does it have a filter? yes, two
Does it have a heater? yes, one
What is the water temperature? 76 degrees Fahrenheit
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
1 Pleco
2 African Cichlids
1 Gold Severum
2 Jack Dempseys

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? haven't changed it yet, but will soon for ick treatment
How much of the water do you change? n/a
What do you use to treat your water? super ick cure (for ick)
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? vacuum for substrate

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? 1 week cycle with tetra quick start formula
What do you use to test the water? n/a
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”. n/a

Ammonia: n/a
Nitrite: n/a
Nitrate: n/a
pH: n/a

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? twice a day
How much do you feed your fish? around 15 pellets per feeding
What brand of food do you feed your fish? API
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 3 weeks
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? a few days ago (for original african cichlid that has ich)
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? twitching, always near filter, not normal (african cichlid)
Have you started any treatment for the illness? put in ick cure, but I have a pleco and he could die from it so I'm posting about this fish only
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? no
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? goes to filter all the time, twitches a lot, moves very quickly

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)

I put in Super Ick Cure from API to treat the ick in my tank. i noticed my fish acting weird a few days ago and just realized it had to be ick cause of the white spots. The african cichlid has lost all its color and is now a chalky white/gray color instead of how it was originally. The main part I'm worried about is my pleco. i put in the ick treatment, but didn't see the small caution part on the label that said to halve the treatment for fish tanks that include scaleless fish like plecos. This is my first time doing this and I just did it about 15 mins ago. I don't want to lose him and I'm just wondering if he will be okay or if there's anything I can do. The treatment is already in the water and has spread out making the water very dark blue. Will he be okay since its one time or will he most likely pass away? Any help would be appreciated. I'm new to tanks so that's why i don't know the ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels. Sorry about that. Can someone help me out at all on this? Thanks!

 

Tank

What is the water volume of the tank? 65 gallons
How long has the tank been running? 4 weeks
Does it have a filter? yes, two
Does it have a heater? yes, one
What is the water temperature? 76 degrees Fahrenheit
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.)
1 Pleco
2 African Cichlids
1 Gold Severum
2 Jack Dempseys

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? haven't changed it yet, but will soon for ick treatment
How much of the water do you change? n/a
What do you use to treat your water? super ick cure (for ick)
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? vacuum for substrate

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? 1 week cycle with tetra quick start formula
What do you use to test the water? n/a
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”. n/a

Ammonia: n/a
Nitrite: n/a
Nitrate: n/a
pH: n/a

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? twice a day
How much do you feed your fish? around 15 pellets per feeding
What brand of food do you feed your fish? API
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 3 weeks
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? a few days ago (for original african cichlid that has ich)
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? twitching, always near filter, not normal (african cichlid)
Have you started any treatment for the illness? put in ick cure, but I have a pleco and he could die from it so I'm posting about this fish only
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? no
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? goes to filter all the time, twitches a lot, moves very quickly

Explain your emergency situation in detail. (Please give a clear explanation of what is going on, include details from the beginning of the illness leading up to now)

I put in Super Ick Cure from API to treat the ick in my tank. i noticed my fish acting weird a few days ago and just realized it had to be ick cause of the white spots. The african cichlid has lost all its color and is now a chalky white/gray color instead of how it was originally. The main part I'm worried about is my pleco. i put in the ick treatment, but didn't see the small caution part on the label that said to halve the treatment for fish tanks that include scaleless fish like plecos. This is my first time doing this and I just did it about 15 mins ago. I don't want to lose him and I'm just wondering if he will be okay or if there's anything I can do. The treatment is already in the water and has spread out making the water very dark blue. Will he be okay since its one time or will he most likely pass away? Any help would be appreciated. I'm new to tanks so that's why i don't know the ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels. Sorry about that. Can someone help me out at all on this? Thanks!

If you do a 50% water change it’s effectively halving the dose.

 

I would just watch him and if he seems to be having trouble "breathing" or moving unusually change 50% of the water. I have only had one pleco have problems with meds ime but it was a sad experience.

That said you should post a picture because I'm not sure it sounds quite like ich. Also you may need to do a water change and should check your parameters if possible. Many pet stores can do it if you bring them a jar of tank water. But I would highly recommend getting a test kit to keep healthy fish, or at least regular water changes and an established tank.

 

I would just watch him and if he seems to be having trouble "breathing" or moving unusually change 50% of the water. I have only had one pleco have problems with meds ime but it was a sad experience.

That said you should post a picture because I'm not sure it sounds quite like ich. Also you may need to do a water change and should check your parameters if possible. Many pet stores can do it if you bring them a jar of tank water. But I would highly recommend getting a test kit to keep healthy fish, or at least regular water changes and an established tank.

Thanks for replying! I just found a water test kit that I had somehow and I'm going to test the water! Should I test it after the 50% water change? I'm doing one now just to be safe.

 

To be honest I think the colorchange of your cichlid could mean you're facing another issue (as well).

Waterquality is the most important I'd say.
Cycling in a week is not cycling.

Off topic : Please be aware keeping african and south american cichlids together could be an issue cause of their difference in needs / food.

 

For your tank the heat treatment is probably a better bet than medicine as everything 'cept perhaps the severum natively handles higher temps.

 

Can you post pictures of what you're saying is ich? The color change you describe can be caused by a lot of things, things like a cycling tank, stress from not ideal tank mates, and even using medications can cause even more stress. When you have a moment, check your water parameters that will help us moving forward with your cure!

As for the pleco, in my experience they are a much hardier fish than most "scaleless" fish. I would do a 50% water only change and that should remove some of the medication. Or put the carbon back in your tank's filter and that will remove the medication as well.

My guess is the issue lies in the water quality. With only using tetra safe start and then not doing any water changes in 4 weeks I'd assume your levels are all over the place causing stress on your fish

 

Have you tested the water yet? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate for sure and pH and hardness of you have it. I believe that's where the issue is as it really takes time for the bacteria to grow and be able to filter the water. I like quickstart and such but they are hit and miss. Some brands are definitely better than others and if the bottle gets too hot or cold before you buy it etc the bacteria may be dead and it won't do anything at all. You really should only use it to help cycle the tank and don't expect it to instantly cycle your aquarium on its own. You probably desperately need a water change since high levels of ammonia or nitrite can lead to burns, stress, disease or death. Keep ammonia under 0.25 ppm

 

Can you post pictures of what you're saying is ich? The color change you describe can be caused by a lot of things, things like a cycling tank, stress from not ideal tank mates, and even using medications can cause even more stress. When you have a moment, check your water parameters that will help us moving forward with your cure!

As for the pleco, in my experience they are a much hardier fish than most "scaleless" fish. I would do a 50% water only change and that should remove some of the medication. Or put the carbon back in your tank's filter and that will remove the medication as well.

My guess is the issue lies in the water quality. With only using tetra safe start and then not doing any water changes in 4 weeks I'd assume your levels are all over the place causing stress on your fish

Here's a picture I managed to grab of one of the dempseys. He has all kinds of white specs on him. I just did a 50% water change BTW yesterday night so that should help my problem with the pleco and the treatment being halved. Is this for sure ick?

 

Looks like ick to me.

 

Ah okay yes that is most certainly ick. I would raise your tank temp up to 86 degrees for 10 days. Do a good water change every other day. That should resolve the problem.