Need help...Fish having trouble breathing...

Chromis aren't the hardiest even though they are damsels,many people have had trouble keeping them even in long established tanks.If you do lose them it might be good to ghost feed your tank for another week or two to build up your bacteria.Also continue to test so you can moniter water conditions.

 

The fish are actually eating today so maybe we are heading in the right direction, however, their mouths are still moving rapidly. They were very active at feeding, and then returned to hiding in the rocks. We thought about doing a water change, but don't know if we should put the stress on them since the parameters appear to be alright. Thanks for everyone's input in the situation, it has been very helpful!

 

Glad to hear things are looking up.It might be best to not do anything to the tank for a couple of days(other than top off and feed lightly) and let them settle in.Chromis are skiddish by nature and it just might take a while for them to settle in.

 

so glad to see that your fish are perhaps settling in. Chromis are very skiddish by nature as sailorguy said, so give them some time. Mine seem to naturally breathe pretty rapidly and their mouths move a lot.