The cycle process with ich in a new tank

Question
I just set up a new 10g tank and put in 6 fish (1 dwarf gourami, 2 red wag platy's, 1 bala shark, 1 golden algae eater, 1 dalmatian mollie) and some substrate and decor. I know the bala shark and algae eater will get fairly big, and I'm planning and transferring the fish to a larger tank, like a 30g, once they start to get big. My local tropical fish store told me that these 6 fish would be sufficient enough to start the cycle process, yet still low enough to not overload the tank. Its been about 8 days and my water tests are starting to show nitrites (2.0/ppm), and small amounts of nitrates <20ppm, but the ammonia is still at deadly levels (8.0/ppm/5ml). To add more to the problem, a few of my fish started showing signs of ich, so i raised the temperature to 86 and treated the tank with meds from tetra (Ickguard). I'm on my 2nd treatment and the ich seems to be getting worse. With each new treatment i did a 25% water change so the amount of meds in the tank don't overload the fish (I was told by my local pet store that those small water changes shouldn't really set back the cycle process at all either). I'm gonna try adding aquarium salt if the ich meds don't show signs of improvement.

My question is, why is the ammonia still at deadly levels while my nitrite levels are increasing? Could it be that the ich meds killed most of my new first stage bacteria? and shouldn't the ich start to die and improve the fish's condition from the meds and water temperature, instead of the fish getting More of the white spots? Another thing i noticed is many small white, free-floating particles in my water, and the few water changes that i did didn't seem to alleviate the condition, so I'm not sure if that plays a factor into any of this though. Thank you for taking time to help me!

Answer
Hi Jake,
Sorry to hear about the problems you are having with your fish!

I really wish the petstore would have not suggested to add so many fish to a brand new tank. Without realizing it you actually stocked your aquarium with far too many before it could even begin to cycle. The sudden introduction of the group of fish quickly overwhelmed the system and thats why ammonia is getting out of control.

The petstore should have suggested to add just the 2 platies. Thats what I would recommend at the maximum for such a small and new aquarium. Normally I would suggest you keep these 2 fish in there for a couple of weeks, testing the water and letting the aquarium cycle gradually. And then building up your population once the mild ammonia goes down.

However, all that aside, what matters is keeping your fish healthy now.
There are some very keys I would like to point out with your current fish issues.

1.) Ammonia is best dealt with by doing large 50% water changes. Small water changes won't help much at all when the levels are high. Theres nothing better for your fish than large water changes, we can't worry about cycling the tank now. Since the fish have ich, we need to deal with that first. The use of medications will also destroy good bacteria in most cases. So you must be focused on a drastic water change and medication routine until the ich parasites are all gone, then focus back on re-cycling.

2.) Ich will often appear and get worse for a few days and then suddenly disappear. Many aquarists think they have 'cured' their fish and stop treatment. But the parasites have only dropped off the fish to multiply at the bottom. Soon to swarm and attack the fish again. Its important to note that its -only- during this stage that they can be affected by medication so you must continue treatment continuously for up to 2 weeks or more to be sure every last ich parasite is gone. Patience and persistence is most important.

*You are doing a great job so far by raising the temp, keeping up the treatment and doing water changes.

Just do larger percentages of water changes at a time. You can also use a water conditioner like 'Prime' that helps neutralize some (but not all) of the ammonia to help lessen the damaging affects it has on fish.

The aquarium's ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are actually normal for a situation like this... with so many fish. With the appearance of nitrites, the ammonia level should be close to start dropping sometime soon.

Aquarium salt combined with medication can help discourage parasites as well.

Not too sure what the white particles would be. Maybe dust, or some residue from the medication. It could also be tiny, tiny air bubbles that resemble minute white particles.

Keep up those meds, warm temp, and big water changes and these are your best defenses to try to get your fish through this difficult time.

Best of luck and I hope this helps!
Susan~