Ich breakout - New to this

[aceee10]

I have a Betta, a few neon tetras and a pleco in a 10 gallon tank. (Betta & tank are 6 months old, added tetras and pleco about 3 weeks ago)
The Betta was the first to show signs of ich and I was advised to quarantine him and treat him with Super Ick Cure as I've been doing. He seems very sad and won't eat. I was tight on $ so I grabbed a plastic fish bowl but no heater for the Betta to medicate him, today would be the recommended second dose day. The temp is now 75.4F.
Last night is when my tetras had visible white spots. My pleco seems fine but it doesn't seem like he's eating as zucchini & wafers are just sitting at the bottom untouched.
I am very unsure about using the Super Ick Cure on the whole tank. Any recommendations? I have read a lot about heat & salt but it seems very controversial. I have ordered Kordon Ich & Garlic Gaurd but I am still unsure about how to go about this. The temp in the tank rn is higher than normal at 86F.
Last reading on the water quality seemed fine although I'm taking it as my nitrates might be a little high (got my water tested at Petsmart).
I really need some advice!
Additional questions:
Recommendations on how to go about water changes to get rid of the ich that's swimming around?
Will Kordon & GG be useful?
Is the Super Ick Cure even useful?
Should I add the Betta back into the tank and treat all together?

 

[OrionGirl]

Yes, put the betta back in the main tank. You will likely need to do water changes either way, since adding that many fish at once likely put the tank out of balance, resulting in an ammonia spike...which made the fish more susceptible to the parasite. Be sure to siphon the substrate--you can't readily remove the free swimming stage, but you can remove the tomonts (external to the fish, on the substrate). Heat and salt are the only method I've used with success.

 

[aceee10]

I have added the Betta back into the tank and decided to treat as a whole and will go on to try and medicate with the Kordon. So now I have a couple questions regarding the filter cartridge. I am using the one that came with the filter and I'm unsure on how to remove the carbon inside. I've read that beneficial bacteria is on the cartridge as well so how do I go about removing the carbon from it and also what kind of carbon do I purchase to replace it with after the medication period is over? When would it be safe to replace the entire cartridge when needed without causing harm in taking all that bacteria away? Thanks in advance!

 

[OrionGirl]

How long has the filter cartridge been in use? If it's more than 2-3 weeks, the carbon is pretty well 'full' at this point, and no longer doing more than serving as added media for bacteria. I wouldn't replace it, just carry on using it. It won't impact meds at this stage.

Long run, replace as infrequently as possible. Clean the build up with each water change, and look into a sponge option, perhaps? I'm not a fan of this style of filter for this exact reason, so easy way to retain the bacteria colonies. When you DO swap, float the new one in the tank for a week first, then scrub the floss from the old one onto the new one. Monitor and do additional water changes as needed.