Help!

i just bought the powerhead yesterday i just had my filter for the week before that

 

ok i have a fresh batch of salt water up to temp and ready to go so if the fish dont improve from the power head i will do a 20% water change

 

I wouldn't do a water change, your still in your cycle. Any water change is going to prolong the cycle. Ammonia can make fish breath heavy. Its from the damage the ammonia is doing to there gills. This is why some don't like to use fish to cycle.

 

but the ammonia has droped way down in the past 2 days its under .25 now and they were fine yesterday when it was at that level

 

Any ammonia in the water will have an effect on the fish. Some people will cycle with a damsel because they are considered to be a very hardy fish and can usually survive the cycle. However, I think you might have a combination of 2 things affecting the fish. The ammonia and the lack of oxygenation. Now that you have the powerhead working, you should start seeing some improvement, but until the ammonia reads 0, the fish will still be under some considerable stress.

HTH

 

Nitrites? I know that some say nitrites don't affect saltwater fish as much as fresh but I think they still can cause stress. Also some high nitrates can stress your fish. Just an idea.

 

thats why i did end up doing a small water change as my nitrates were through the roof. but it did not seem to help they are still just hanging out at the bottom of the tank not swimming around and not eating