Lethargic Chromis Breathing heavily

[Theexp]

I bought 3 Green Chromis on Saturday from my lfs, They have been fine the last 4 days, eating ground up hikari marine a pellets. So this morning i turned on lights, fed and left for school, and everthign was normal. But then when i got home today 2 of the 3 chromis were laying on their sides, on the rock, breathing heavily. One has a small red dot on the top of his head. I tested ph, ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite, and everything is in order. Salinity is at 1.025. Any advice would be great. Right now I have them quarantined. Any help would be great. thanks alot

[kevin2000]

No offence intended but "everything in order" is kinda vague. Has your tank cycled? What was the ammonia level?

Breathing heavily is often a sign of an ammonia issue which has burned the gills or a parasite infestation of the gills.

Can you provide a picture of the fish? Do you show any signs of ich (salt like spots) or any discoloration/sheen on the their skin?

[Theexp]

My tank is cycled. I've had live rock in it for months. Ammonia is 0, Nitrates 0, nitrites 0, ph is ~8.7 which is high, I know. (sorry for being vague) the fish has no Ich, but has a slight redening around gill and head area. will post pictures when camera battery charged.

[kevin2000]

Thanks.

If the tank has been cycled for months I assume these aren't your first fish. If that correct - what other fish are in the tank, how long have they been there, any losses and if so when and what symptoms did they show?

[Theexp]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y216/Theexp/CHROMIS003.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y216/Theexp/CHROMIS005.jpg

[Theexp]

Well they died, at 940. I don't know why. I have some more pictures if that helps. I think they might have taken a ride down the overflow which could have stressed/damaged them. But that was 3 days ago, so i don't know why it'd show up now. (there was a fish in the sump twice, idk if it was 2 different ones or the same one.)

[Spracklcat]

In the first picture, is that the gill tissue that is red? If so...ammonia does sound like the culprit. How big was the tank? If small, 3 additional fish all at once could certainly throw the biological filter off and cause an ammonia spike.

[Theexp]

its a 65 with a 20 gallon sump. I have checked ammonia, everyday since i got the fish and its been zero. I've had live rock in the tank for at least a few months, and live sand, so i do not think it is ammonia/bio, but not ruling it out. When the lights just came on it looked like the whole upper half of the fish was blood shot, had a reddish hue to it.