Thanks again for taking the time to help me out!! It is very appreciated!!!
These guys are acting normal. The only spot I saw any where else but the tail fine was on the side of the body, a small sore formed, and healed within a couple days. Are there spots on the gills that I'm not seeing, or are they on the inside? I read up on ick, how it grows, drops and then spreads. If it was on the gills would it grow large enough for me to see it?
This started off looking like ick. Small white grains. Then after the struggle with it went on, the fish would develop large pimple like bumps, these would open within a day. On some I could barley see the white grains in them. The large spots seem to go away the fastest. I could not find other parasites that would behave like them that were not in the ich family. I don't think the dealer does any scraping. I'll pick up a microscope.
The pond hydrometer is from Dr. Foster & Smith and is intended for pond use. It ranges from 1.001 to 1.011 specific gravity (1-15ppt). The packages says go to 1.005 for treatment, but maintain around 1.001 to 1.003 for a "happy" pond. I just have not been able to translate specific gravity into the .3% used when reading sites. When my koi dealer said 1.010, it seemed high, but I don't know.
So stop with the Life Guard, heat is at 80 now, add 3 teaspoons of salt per gallon of water over 36 hours, (they'll be in a 55 gallon), wait 24 hours after the salt increase and then start the Quick Cure. Water changes every 5 days until clear?