Is This Ick Or Sand?

HI fellas. So I recently got a clown loach for my community tank. My mom insisted on not quarantining him and he's been in there for about 24 hours and has been acting totally fine, but today I noticed these tiny white spots on his 'scales'. Could this be ick or just sand stuck to him? Are there other physical/behavioral that comes with ick instead of just tiny white spots?

 

the one thing flex tape can't fix.

 

Id say ich

 

the one thing flex tape can't fix.

I beg to differ but ill stick to the OP's question.

Yes that looks like Ich. I do notice that sand sticks to loach fins as like it does to my Kuhlis when they sift. But this is on the body and I would assume its Ich. Other symptoms can be the fish scratching its self and rubbing against things.

 

Clown loaches are very prone to getting ich. Have you had the fish long? One of mine had ich but it wasn’t long after I purchased them.