Please help with suspected ich!

[yellowfruitloops]

Hi, so I’m very very new to looking after tropical fish and currently have a tank with a clown pleco and panda corys (fish were only introduced 2 weeks ago). I also originally had 6 cardinal tetra however found two dead last week and the remaining 4 died within 12 hours and 2 had identifiable white spots. The pleco also had spots which were covering his entire body by the next morning (his looked slightly more yellow which freaked me out that it could be velvet?). He was showing what I understand to be typical signs of Ich and was wiggling constantly and attached to the glass near the top of the tank almost permanently. I’ve attached the best pictures I could get of him when he was at his worst. The corys have so far shown no signs although seem a little lethargic since I started treatment although they are still very active when I feed them.

I have spent the past week reading literally every forum on white spot. I have been treating the tank for a week (half dose due to the remaining fish species) with API white spot treatment and after 4 days there was a drastic reduction in the plecos spots and now he appears to have just one left on his tail - although it’s very hard to tell as he’s now back to hiding is his little cave or underneath the bog wood.

I know I have made so many mistakes already (I have literally just been following advice from the people in the fish shop throughout) but I really want to know how long I need to treat the water for when the spots have gone as I know now the spots have fallen off this is just the beginning of the cycle. I’m desperately trying to do the right thing to help the remaining fish

My other problem is I’m having to do 50% water changes daily at the moment due to nitrates (0 nitrite) so I’m dosing the treatment daily rather than every other day as instructed on the box. Is this likely to harm the fish? I could probably stretch to every other day but the nitrate likes to peak around 50. The tank is 24 degrees and I cant realistically get it any higher due to the corys. I’m going away next weekend for 2 nights and I’m terrified about leaving the fish and want to make sure I can pass on all the correct information to my flatmate/family while I’m away.

 

[fishorama]

That doesn't look like ich to me. But it can look different in "armored" catfish like plecos & corys. It ususally looks like salt sprinkled on fish. I'm going to guess it's lymphocistes, a virus. But I'm not sure that's what it is. Wait for more people to help. If I'm right, there isn't any treatment, but it can go away. It can also infect other fish. So, keep up good water changes & keep your fingers crossed. I'm sure others will have opinions too. DO NOT add any more fish until it's IDed & under control.

Go enjoy you few days off & plan on water changes when you get home. It's always stressful to have fish issues, especially right when you need to leave. Good luck!