Sounded like columnaris to me with the white colouration, was it beneath the skin.
It can also look like the skin is peeling away.
Also fish can come down with septicemia with columnaris.
Also scales falling off and septicemia can also be fish tb.
Taken from the link provided.
The signs of Flexibacter infection run the gamut from fuzzy lesions of the mouth (“Mouth Fungus”) to septicemia (infection in the bloodstream) to white fuzzy patches scattered over the body, sometimes so severe as to cause the skin to look as if it is shedding or peeling, with the fins disintegrating. Due to the white fuzzy patches, Flexibacter also goes by the layterm, “Cotton Wool Disease” and this infection is so common in mollies that it carries the common names of “Black Molly Disease” and “Mad Molly Disease” with mollies often exhibiting “shimmying”. Often the fuzzy patch will be located on the fish’s back, surrounding the dorsal (top) fin, having the characteristic look to it of a saddle, giving rise to the term “saddle-back lesion”. These lesions may also be found on the fins (fin rot), especially on the caudal (tail) fin and on the gills. The natural course of “Mouth Fungus” is that the white fuzzies or patches are followed within a day or two by redness, ulceration and necrosis, which means that the mouth quickly turns into a gnarly mess!
Fish tb symtoms.
Loss of appetite
Progressive thinness
Sluggish movement
Folded fins
Eye protrusion
Dark coloration and granular appearance of the cornea (this is the first sign in Angelfish).
Skeletal deformity
Hanging at the surface
Skin defects, including blood spots and open wounds that may ulcerate
Black spots, or overall dark coloration (in Cichlids particularly).
Fin rot, characterised by the outer rays falling out.
Scales loosening and falling out
General swelling and scale protrusion (as in Dropsy)
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