Betta fish sick? white chin

Question
Hi. I've had a male betta fish who is bright orange/red in colour for around a month now. I have him in a 1.1 gallon jar that is kept around 80 degree F with a heat tube that is inside the jar. I use tap water, a water conditioner and less than a 1/4 tsp of aquarium salt. I change the water once a week and wash the jar with HOT water and soap. I feed him 6-7 betta pellets a day.. they were pretty cheap.. I've tried to feed him the frozen brine shrimp but he spits it out.
The problem I am having is that I noticed that under his mouth or "chin" (I don't know what to call it) he has started to turn white. It started out just being a very small patch, which he's had for weeks, but then I just noticed a few days ago that it had spread to under his eyes and down to his gills(it's all white now). Also, around his gills and under his eyes, his scales look very shiny and discoloured. It also looks like his gills MAY be swollen, but that might just be me.. seems like they aren't going in properly anymore. He eats well... he darts up and down the jar sometimes.. but he's always done that. Everything else seems normal.
Any idea what's going on? Any help would be appreciated.  *worried*

~Jeanette


Answer
Hi Jeanette;

Oh my goodness. He is very sick and may need some antifungal and/or antibiotic medication to heal him. There are a couple of things you will have to change first though;

You are overfeeding him so cut back to 3 or 4 pellets a day. If he eats too much at one feeding he could get intestinal blockage. He could also get fat and have organ trouble. Some fish will eat until they are stuffed, but just like people it isn't good for them.

Also; Do not EVER use soap to clean your fish tank or anything else that comes in contact with the fish or his water! Soap is very toxic to fish. Even if rinsed well it can still leave residue on rocks, plastic decorations, ceramic decorations, nets, filters, etc. Anything you have used soap on that is porous (ceramics, rocks, cloth) needs to be thrown away. It just isn't worth taking the chance. Personally I'd rather buy new stuff than have the possibility my fish could die. Soap strips off the protective slime coating of the fish and exposes it to disease. It also inflames the gills and burns the eyes. Doesn't take much soap for that to happen either so get rid of those items that could be poisoned and change his water again.

After his tank is all "detoxified" from the soap, use a medication for fungus. Also keep the temperature up to about 85 degrees. Heat helps the immune system. The salt is okay to use right now too. Add 1/2 teaspoon. It is a fine dose for treating illness and helps him rejuvenate his slime coating. Change his water once a week and add the salt again for as long as he is sick.

I hope he feels better soon.......

Here are some sites to help you know more about betta care and keeping;

http://www.healthybetta.com
http://www.bettatalk.com

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins