cardinals showing ick...

[tepelus]

noticed yesterday that my cardinals are starting to show signs of ick. they have a few little white specks on them but otherwise look fine, eating like piggies and are plump. i guess i should treat them before it gets worse. questions i have though are....
-this is a planted tank, should i go around the tank and vacuum as much crud on the surface of the substrate as i can before adding the meds?
-i am running the micron filter in the magnum right now, should i replace it with the regular media cartidge and stuff it with filter floss while medicating? will the micron filter remove the meds?
-the medication i picked up is jungle ick guard II for scaleless fish. says one tsp per ten gallons. my tank is 46, but with the substrate, rock and wood, prolly more like 40 or 42, so 4 tsp would be good dosage? this is a 37% formalin formula med, i thought since it says its safe for scaleless fish, it would be safe for tetras too.
-should i raise the temp up from what i have set at 77 to 80?
its been a while since i've had to medicate fish, i've never had to medicate when this tank was saltwater, but a long time ago when i had freshies and needed to medicate i would use the malachite green and it turned the silicone in the tank green. anyway, they turned out alright, i just don't want any dead fishies(like everyone else). just taking some precautions here.

 

[kmail5776]

noticed yesterday that my cardinals are starting to show signs of ick. they have a few little white specks on them but otherwise look fine, eating like piggies and are plump. i guess i should treat them before it gets worse. questions i have though are....
-this is a planted tank, should i go around the tank and vacuum as much crud on the surface of the substrate as i can before adding the meds?

That would be a good start. Its highly recommended, though I really didn't to it.

-i am running the micron filter in the magnum right now, should i replace it with the regular media cartidge and stuff it with filter floss while medicating? will the micron filter remove the meds?

No, activated arbon will remove the meds.

-the medication i picked up is jungle ick guard II for scaleless fish. says one tsp per ten gallons. my tank is 46, but with the substrate, rock and wood, prolly more like 40 or 42, so 4 tsp would be good dosage? this is a 37% formalin formula med, i thought since it says its safe for scaleless fish, it would be safe for tetras too.

This I'm not sure, I went with the salt treatment when I treated ich in my tank. Just remember to treat for about a week after symptoms go away to ensure you eradicate ich. Stopping treatment early is just asking for another outbreak.

-should i raise the temp up from what i have set at 77 to 80?

yes, raising the temp will help speed up treatment time by shortening the life cycle of the parasite.

its been a while since i've had to medicate fish, i've never had to medicate when this tank was saltwater, but a long time ago when i had freshies and needed to medicate i would use the malachite green and it turned the silicone in the tank green. anyway, they turned out alright, i just don't want any dead fishies(like everyone else). just taking some precautions here.

I'm just spitting out my own personal experience with ich. I used a salt treatment of 2 tsp/gal and reaised temp to 82 deg F for 2 weeks. Those commercial products say they eradicate ich in like 3 days, I really doubt that. Formalin I always thought was more a temporary treatment, used like a dip for several hours. But good luck with your treatment.

Here's a really good article on the disease