Ich & Nitrites

Question
i have a 48 gallon tank. First opened on Jan 1 2012. I have 2 platy's, 4 guppies, 6 tetra's & 1 bottom feeding cat fish. I have had 2 platy's die in the past two weeks. I did notice the presence of Ich on the last platy. The nitrites are testing very high. I was advised by pet smart to treat the ich first by using Kordon Rid.ich plus. I have been using this for 5 days. I do not see any visible signs of ich, however, my fish are not nearly as active as they once were. How much longer should i continue to treat the ich & once complete with ich treatment, what should i do in order to begin treating for the high levels of Nitrites?

I have done regular water changes once a week, i use tetra aqua safe conditioner with every change. I recently purchased prime with hopes to correct the high level of nitrite level. My water temperature has been maintained at 78 degrees.

Answer
Duke,
The fish are reacting to the medication you have been putting int he water. To safely speed up the Ich life cycle slowly turn the heater up to 85 degrees. This will speed the cycle and get the Ich into the water and off the fish. Add aquarium salt to the water at the ratio of 1 tablespoons of salt for every 5 gallons of water. This will kill the Ich. With the temperature up higher, the Ich will be gone within 5 days. Once the Ich is gone, start removing the salt by doing daily water changes of 25%. The fastest and safest way to bring the nitrites down is by doing daily water changes. Make sure you test the water every day and do a water change according to the levels. Higher levels will need a larger water change. Never change out more than 50% of the water at one time.