Firemouth Cichlid Behavior

Question
QUESTION: About two weeks ago i purchased two 1.5" firemouth cichlids and neither of them are acting normal. one of them sometimes it tilts to one side(maybe sleeping?), is this a problem? I think it is a male because it has a pointed dorsal fin. The other firemouth i think is a female because it has rounded fins. She has a problem too she is breathing very fast and one second she is full of color and the next she is pale. She also has a little red around her mouth, but I don't know if it is from the coloring of the under side of the gills. do you know what could be causing the heavy breathing and the color around the mouth and if so what can I do to cure this? Also the male is fighting with the female but the female either swims away or just takes it and does nothing about it. and too add to all this neither are really eating. they just attack food if it moves past them. If there is any way you can help me fix all these problems you would be a HERO! thank you so much
Eric

ANSWER: Hi Eric,
Check your water to see if you have any ammonia or nitrates in it.  If so, do water changes to get the ammonia and nitrates out of your water.  You didn't mention the size of your aquarium or how many fish you have in it.  Nitrates in your water is very harmful to fish.  They lack oxygen, and die.  If this is the case, get rid of the nitrates, add a fizz stone, and another filter to your aquarium.  Once you have done this, make water change of 25% every week, this is very important.
Provide many hiding places for them.  They are cichlids, and although some firemouths are fairly non aggressive, some are.

Firemouths before they become a couple hold each other by the mouth to see if they are of equal force.  If they are, they will spawn, if they are not, the stronger one will kill the other...it all about observation.

Check your water and get back to me with more details if nothing I have mentioned here is wrong.  I strongly feel it is your water chemistry, so make sure it is right, and use a good conditioner when changing the water.  What makes me think that it is nitrates is that they have trouble breathing, and are not eating.  It really looks like a lack of oxygen.
Hope this helps
Lynda

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you very much for answering my questions. I only have 2 firemouth cichlids in a 20 gallon tank and i have a brownish colored gravel and two pretty big size plants and two broken flower pots. I am not sure how to check the water, the nitrate and nitrite that is could you tell me? i have a bubbler and a large filter the water is almost crystal clear. I was looking at the female and there is like a florescent orange color inside the mouth and on the tips of the dorsal fin it just doesn't look normal. Thank you again for your help.

Answer
Hi Eric,
There are three kits, that are a "Must Have" in your fish cabinet.  These are:
PH kit
Nitrate Kit
Ammonia Kit
These kits are not expensive, and you really need them to see if your water has the right chemistry.  Your water can be crystal clear, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have nitrates in it.  The fact that your female is breathing fast, and that the male is on his side, makes me think that you do have some trouble with your water chemistry.  It could be a low or too high PH, it could be ammonia, and it could be nitrates.  I have to have the reading of all three to help you, and you will always need these kits if you are serious in keeping a healthy aquarium.  Once you have checked your water chemistry, I will be able to help you more.  Firemouths can be very colourful, the colour of your female could be normal. They do have red around their mouths, and they do have some reddish colouring on their dorsal fin.  They become more colourful when spawning, or stressed.  I really have to know the condition of your water.  You cannot treat fish that are sick in bad water conditions.  I really have to know to help you.  
Are your plants live plants or silk plants?  I would have to know this.  Sometimes when the plants get big, they take up lots of oxygen in a tank...thus taking away oxygen from the fish.  I don't think this is the case seeing as you only have two fish.  Also if they are live plants, check to see if you don't have dying leaves, or roots.  Live plants feed off of fish excrements, and when not fed enough, leaves die, and roots rot, so check this too. I really insist on checking your nitrates, ammonia, and PH.  
Once you have the readings of these, I will be able to help you more. These little kits are easy to understand.  It is a good investment as you will need them often to check your water.
Lynda