I always use API and have never had a problem. Just make sure you get the tests with the liquid drops.

to be honest with you, I don't have the bottle, I was pretty short on cash yesterday and he just gave me as much as I would need. the guy doesn't take credit cards and I was in a hurry.

I think that's all that it does do from what I looked up online.

Yeah, it can be, but you can't go treating for it every time you see a cichlid flash. If it is ich, wait until you see the salt crystals and then treat up through when they are free swimming. You won't be able to kill the parasite now anyways - it has to be free swimming to die. As long as it is attached to a host, the fish's slime coat protects it. So even if it turns out to be ich, treating now is worthless and in fact harmful to the fish because you are guessing.

If I had to guess (I know I said not to guess above - ironic), I bet you irritated them with the high spike. Cichlids flash all the time and they are probably doing more so now because the spike got out of hand. Try the water changes and keep watching them. Do not use flashing as a diagnostic tool - it doesn't work. Also, I would throw away the strip tests and get the drops. Then tell us what your "real" reading is.

No, no, no. You can't see them when they are free floating. You only know because it is the phase in their life cycle after they have released from the host fish. The only reason it is important is because many people will see the salt-like spots on their fish and then treat them until they disappear. This does nothing. Instead what you have to do is keep medicating for several days afterwards to kill them when they are free floating. If you have ich you will see it as little white salt-like spots on your fish. if you don't see this in a couple of days then they don't have it.