sick chilid

Question
I have a 55 gallon tank with 4 chilid, 6 danios, one placo.  I use one flo-vale filter and a 60 filter i got at walmart.  My fish had not eaten in weeks.  Its gills are very read and it swimms with its head low and tail high.  I have had the fish for around 4 to 5 months now.  Its the alfa of the tank but is very week now.  It seem like it has a hard time breathing and the gill look swolen.  Fish lost weight.  

Answer
Hi,
what sort of cichlid is it? There are many types, all with very different needs and personalities. Until I know that, my answer will be very general.
Red gills can be a sign of ammonia poisoning. The best thing to do would e to buy test kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, and test them every few days. The ammonia and nitrite of the tank water should be 0.0, as they are basically poison, so even 0.1 can be harmful. Do 30 percent daily water changes until it is 0.0. The nitrate is safe at levels under 20ppm. Live plants help lower it.
Feed them a variety of cichlid pellets, flake food, live and frozen bloodworms, brineshrimp and daphnia, as well as boiled cucumber.
I hope your fish gets better.
Best wishes,
Kathryn