Please Help.. Not Sure What Is Wrong

[kirinafa]

I have one 5 gallon and a new 55 gallon tank.
 
I recently bought a pleco, and he was in the 5 gallon for a bit but i moved him to the 55 gallon. I also moved a phantom tetra from the 5 gal to the 55 gal since i bought some new tetras for him to be with.
 
A few days ago the two platies that are in the 5 gal were just sitting at the bottom. I thought maybe the female was about to give birth, as shes been pregnet for a while.
When both the male and the female started doing it, i did a water test for the first time and here it is:
nitrate (NO3) 0
nitrite (NO2) 1
Total hardness 75 (soft)
Total alkalinity 80
pH 5.5
 
I know i'm low on the bottom three, so from what i'm reading im going through a mini cycle. I did a gravel water change yesterday and planned to do it again in another two days.
 
Then today i realize that they, along with the tetra in the 55 gallon, have ich. Sparkly white dots all over them. Scared, i moved the tetra back into the 5 gallon. The pleco is still in the 55 gallon and i'm not sure if i should put him back into the 5 gal. He was the only new fish i put in there, so i'm assuming he is the one that had it?
 
My bf is rushing to the petstore to get some meds for the ich and a new heater that'll get up to 80 for the 5 gallon. I heard salt might help? And is the ich the cause of them staying at the bottom of the tank like that? Please help, i really do love my platies.

 

[This Old Spouse]

How long has the 5g been set up? How many fish are in it? And have your bf get you a liquid test kit while he's out.

 

[kirinafa]

Its been established for about a year.. and sadly he didn't pick one up, all he got was the medication.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Well, follow the medication directions precisely, and get yourself a liquid test kit (API, Nutrafin, whatever) so you can test your ammonia levels. If the test you're using now, I'm assuming strips, is showing a reading of 1 for nitrite, that's serious trouble. Do a very large water change before starting the medication.

 

[DerpPH]

I second spouse... also what phantoms? black or red? did you quarantine your fish? was it with other phantoms if the same species?

 

[tomtomtom1230]

It might not be ich per se. Doesn't Velvet's disease give a sparkly appearance?

 

[CoryLover95]

What is your ammonia reading?

 

[kirinafa]

It was a black phantom tetra, and it has since passed. Out of desperation i moved my two platies into the 55 gallon, as i'm sure everyone in there has already beeen exposed. Right now two platies, the pleco, and one or two of the baby black phantoms have it. In total this is what is in my 55 gallon:
 
1 angelfish that looks fine (1 died about half a week ago, no signs of anything wrong with it)
2 black phantom tetras with some signs of it (One died a few days ago with no signs, my grown one died yesterday with major signs of it, here is a picture from yesterday:
http/i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae117/kirinafa/IMG_11871_zps58e4b739.jpg
2 orange tetras who are looking good
2 platies who have minor shiny white dots on them. They are itchy and tend to stay at the bottom of the tank/in a corner. I am most afraid for them since they are acting so strange. 
 
Here is the reading in the 55 gallon using the last of my test strips:
 
Nitrate/nitrits: 0
Hardness: 75
Alkalinity: 80
pH 6.5
 
When my boyfriend gets home we are going to town and hopefully getting better ones to see what the ammonia is. I know i'm low on a few of those readings so most likely getting some other things to raise them up.  He is putting bactershield and parashield into the tank.

 

[kirinafa]

One of the orange tetras died today Oddly they didn't show any signs of ich.

 

[kirinafa]

My female platy died this morning. I'm very sad about that. It seems every day 1 to 2 of my fish are passing away. Should i even try to treat the tank? Should i just put them all to sleep? What happens when they all die? Do i still need to treat the tank? How long until i can add more?
 
My survives so far:
1 angelfish
2 phantom tetras
1 platy
1 pleco suckerfish
 
I'm thinking the other platy will be next, which is another heartbreaker for me.

 

[attibones]

Definitely ich. How did you cycle the 55? Keep with the medicine. Maybe some of your fish will pull out of it. 


If they all die, you need to add a carbon cartridge to your filter to remove any excess medicine. Then do a nice gravel clean, change the water, and begin a fish-less cycle if you did not cycle the tank before hand.

 

[Sophie]

Good luck! Sorry for your losses.

 

[CoryLover95]

I'm so sorry hope this all gets sorted soon, sorry for your losses.