damsel breathing heavy need help

[Jasiel Morales]

hey guys i bought a damsel yesterday and today is breathing heavy it ate this morning.am running a 50 gal penguin power wheel on a 10 gallon tank liquids that am using are
-stability
-prime
-de nitrate
and a ph buffer powder
nitrite is -0
nitrate is 5.0ppm
ph is at 8.2
amonia is between 0-0.25 ppm
and i have 2 gallons of uv light per gallon
and a hydor koralia 400GPH

[leebca]

Not sure about your setup. Is this a 10 gallon aquarium? It doesn't make much sense to put a 400 gph pump on a 10 gallon aquarium. Maybe you are not getting good advice. Whoever is advising you on how to run a marine aquarium should not be listened to.

I wouldn't be too surprised to think that the fish is being stressed due to water quality. You are putting a lot of chemicals into the tank without:
1) measuring what is being added; and
2) knowing it is needed to add.

You are not testing everything you need to measure. What is the alkalinity, magnesium, and calcium? Then, these three not only need to be in their proper ranges, BUT they also have to be BALANCED. Read this entire post to get an understanding of what a wide scope 'water quality' really has: What is Water Quality.

Any sign of ammonia is a sign there is a problem. How old is this tank? A tank should be 2+ months old before putting a fish in it. Have you been following this: Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium. Compare your setup and process with what is written in this linked post.

Anyway, the fish is showing signs of stress and I would most likely say at this time is a water quality issue. I want you to do a huge water change -- over 80%. Since this is a large water change, follow these guidelines closely: How to Make a Successful Water Change

Get the test kits you need to finish off the water testing then report back the entire set of numbers. I also hope the numbers you reported were test kit results and not a dip stick.