hello, new here with a sick weather loach

[Beaniezotzim]

Hi there. Sorry to jump right in, I usually visit these sites to try to find answers, but I now have a legitimately sick fish. I think it's ich. I have my weather loach in a 20 gallon tank (I know it's too small, but it's all I have for now, and I am looking at larger aquariums to place her in soon)

I just bought a test kit and the results for all of the tests I can take are as follows:
Nitrate results: around 5.0ppm
Nitrite results: 0 ppm
Ammonia results: 0-.25 ppm
Confused about PH, the test kit comes with ph test and high ph test. When using ph test the results are in the 7.6 result meter, so I take a new sample of water and use the high ph wih a result looking to be in the 7.8-8.0 level

Water temp is 75. I do not have a heater.

Since I've noticed her behavior change, I've been doing water changes every other day or so of between 20-50%

Feeding has been very limited because I was concerned that she was having a digestive issue, but now she is beginning to get white spots on her barbs and tail and now a few along the top part of her body, making me think its ich.

I've read to raise the temp of the aquarium to approx 80-85 degrees to help rid the ich, but i don't have a heater to do this.
I ordered some ich medicine that is supposed to be decent to treat loaches because apparently they are sensitive to meds due to lack of scales?
This is all new to me, so I am sorry for the lack of knowledge and mistakes. I was thrown into fish keeper role of the household when my husband came home with a three gallon tank, a loach, and two goldfish for our two year old! I'm learning as I go, so please be kind. The loach has been with us for about 2.5 years and I want her to be comfortable and well.

 

[Beaniezotzim]

Also, I don't know how to add a picture, but I did take one of her barbs with the white spots on them

 

[Delapool]

Hi, welcome.

Have you added anything to the tank recently that might have resulted in ich? Even plants. Just checking it is ich which looks like white salt crystals.

Most ich meds here will suggest a half dose for sensitive fish.

 

[Beaniezotzim]

Thank you for the reply. I did, I added a new pleco. I am fairly certain it is ich. She had little salt like bumps on her. I've learned a lot in a day or so and realize that ich is a free floating disease, so that explains why the little bumps are gone when I look an hour later! I have rid ich plus in the tank at half dose and I went to the store and purchased a heater, the tank is slowly heating up now. I will eventually get the heat to approx 82 degrees? Does that sound right?

 

[Kayla_Leckband]

Hey! I'm the owner of several Weather loaches, after about 3 months of having my first loach I noticed those white almost bump looking things on her, it wasn't ich but there is something else. Since loaches don't have scales they produce this slime coat that protects them, and every once and a while that slime coat sheds just like a snake sheds its old skin. My dojo started rubbing itself all over the décor and about a week later all the spots were gone! Hope this helps!
~Kayla L.