ICK!!

Question
Hello, I hope that you can help me and quickly at that! For about 3 years now I have had a cichlid aquarium, I believe it's 49 gallons. I have had numerous cichlids living peacefully in the water along with 2 large plecos and one smaller one also a catfish. Well, one by one the fish started dying, most were older fish, and I assumed that it was due to old age, this has been over the course of about a year now. Recently, I had noticed a lot of the fish scraping off the plants and coral in the tank and at that time, the water was very cloudy, I assumed that they were scraping due to poor water conditions. No matter how many times I changed the water, it would not clear up. Finally, I thought I had it under control, tank is clear, and now the fish start dying one by one, one or two days in between. Then I read about ick...however, I now have 2 cichlids remaining, both with white spots all over, not eating, and lethargic. Unfortunatley, I'm thinking from what I read about ick, it's too late to save these fish. My question then arises about what to do with the plecos and the catfish that remain. Will the ick attack them too? I read somewhere that once the ick has left the host, it drops to the bottom of the tank and multiplies and then finds a new host to attach to. I know that I will have to treat the tank with ick medication, but what else should I do? Should I set up a small 10 gallon tank somewhere to let thse guys live in until I can treat the large tank? I was thinking that I would like to start a community fish tank anyway, although, I was hoping to find someone to give the cichlids to...I am heartsick that I have apparently killed them all off. So anyway, I need to keep the 3 plecos and the one catfish alive long enough to treat the tank with the ick medication...ot is it too late for them too??

Answer
Erica,                                                                  You have a parasite in your tank. Run don't walk to your pet shop and get some coppersafe. This will take care of ick and parasites. The rubbing is a sure sign of  a parasite...this is called flashing. It is 1 tsp per gallon and if your carbon is more than 3 days old you do not have to remove it.It stays in your water about 30 days. which is good sometimes a parasite can take 3 weeks to get rid of. If you have to do a water change before 30 days just estimate the amount you took out and add more. No new carbon until the 30 days are up. Good Luck,Tina