Heavy Breathing

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
       I have a 55 gal African Cichlid tank with 2 peacocks, 2 Kenyi, 2 red zebra, 1 albino zebra and a bumblebee. They all were doing fine and i check on them regularly. I noticed last night my bumblebee was hanging out in the corner of my tank by himself not moving allot but thought nothing more then he was resting . Today i noticed he was breathing very heavy and later in the day th others started to breath a little heavy but still no where near as hard as the bumblebee. I did a 40% water change thinking the Ammonia is high but i haven't noticed a change other then my fish are acting more active. I changed my filter since it clouded my water before the change i'm not sure if maybe that was the cause? I bought some Spirulina today since i had been only feeding them tetra cichlid crisps and frozen blood worms for a few months and the Spirulina is the only thing I've changed different about the tank. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with it or if my lack of changing the filter on time is the real cause .  I haven't had a change to test the water for ammonia due to the nearest pet supply store is about an hour away either.

ANSWER: Hi Rachel:  That is usually the sign of water toxicity... so the water change was good.  I would change 40% again tomorrow and see how they react.  Make sure the filter in your tank is working...and the filter media is good shape.  Add some aquarium salt to the water as it will help them breath.  What is the water temperature??? has that changed????  dave

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QUESTION: The Water Temp has only changed a degree or so , so nothing major. I did a water change again today seems to be improving some but my bumblebee is still hiding in the back breathing really hard and he's kinda the family favorite so im pretty worried about him. The rest of my fish are breathing just gently but its enough for me to notice there is something in the water. My two peacocks are the only ones not breathing hard and acting normal. I'm going to continue the water changes everyday since they are so hardy. Do you think i should go get some prime? i'm all out when i really need it, and i'm not a big fan of using chemicals on fish and usually try to avoid it as much as i can and use natural ways but i will if its a must. Thank You !

Answer
have you cleaned the gravel??? Usually nitrite and nitrate are the tail end of an ammonia issue... The water changes make the use of Prime, etc obsolete.... check the gravel and the tanks ornaments to see if something is rotting in the tank... and continue to add beneficial bacteria after each water change... Aquarium salt really helps fish to breath better..... dave