Is this Ich?

[Ram]

Im not sure if thats ich i see on its tail. Is there any way to cure it naturally without a quarantine tank?

 

[Humblefish]

Certainly looks like ich to me. No reef safe options currently exist for complete eradication, only management. Look here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-to-treat-ich.191226/

And here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ich-eradication-vs-ich-management.188775/

 

[omykiss001]

I also see it on his pectoral fins and looks like ich for sure

 

[melypr1985]

Looks like ick to me as well.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Looks like Lymphosyts to me. Malnutrition factor, to many spots on the fins, none on the body.

 

[mcarroll]

A lot of things look like that, including sand stuck to their slime coat, so try not to jump to a premature conclusion - you want to have more evidence.

How about current behavior - anything unusual?

Is the fish stressed so you know it "has a reason to be sick"? I.e. too many other fish, unfriendly tankmates, poor water quality, recently moved, etc, etc.

 

[Humblefish]

Here's a good barometer for telling whether or not "white spots" on a fish is ich: Ich trophonts will remain on a fish for 3-7 days. If the white spots come & go within that time frame, it's probably ich. Anything less than 3 days is probably just sand caught in the mucous coat; although if a fish is completely covered in "dust" that could be velvet, as that has a much shorter life cycle than ich. Any white spots on a fish for longer than 7 days is probably Lymphocystis, especially if the spot(s) grow in size on the fish.

 

[Humblefish]

Also, ich trophonts burrow in under the epithelium (outer skin layer). So a close inspection of the white spots should reveal that they are actually under the skin. Sand on the skin will typically dangle off and get blown by the current; Lymphocystis nodules and bacterial growths protrude outward.