Patchy, white Bleeding Heart Tetra

[ThaDude]

Hey fellas.
I've had this Bleeding Heart for about 3 years now.
There's something going on with him, I should have caught it sooner.

There are white patches covering the fish.
They look to be 'external' (protruding out of the scales)
It is affecting the entire fish, although the gills look to have an abundance.

At times, it appears as if the fish is somewhat swimming funny
(tilted, if you will)

None of my other Bleeding Hearts have this going on, however, their gills look a bit red.

Any idea what this is, or how to treat it?

Thanks in advance.

I've included a picture.
There is a glare of a white cord off the glass, which is highlighted in the second picture to avoid confusion.

 

[ThaDude]

No ideas??

 

[Lupin]

It's hard to be positive of what we are dealing with from those vague shots. I was going to guess right off the bat bacterial infection particularly columnaris as you had described it as "white patches" which columnaris is known to indicate about. Do your fish scratch badly at all?

 

[ThaDude]

Sorry, it was the best shot i could get of him.

no, he doesn't flash, but he is really aggressive twards the other bleeding hearts and hides a lot.

i've dealt with columnaris before, and this looks a little different.
The patches are more white and 'fuzz' looking, not stringy