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This is the answer to a post on http://cichlid-forum.com. You'll probably be seeing a bunch of these in the near future as I'll be going back through them and turning them into articles.
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Nooo problem. :)
Before we can do anything we'll need to make an educated/estimated guess as to what the problem might be.
First off, get a filter, air-stone and heater for the 8 gallon . . . or better yet, just pop another $15 - $20 for a 10 gallon and top. I know my LFS guy sells Perfecto 10g for $9.95 (I actually have bought many of them from him). :)
Here's an article on setting up a proper hospital tank:
http://happycichlids.com/Tank_Setup_and_Maintenance/hospital_tank.html
Without a properly set up hospital tank your fish won't have much of a chance for survival. You'll just end up chasing other problems that crop up from poor water quality, and the fish will never be able to relax enough to heal.
If you don't have any NitrAtes, it's entirely likely that you have no bio-filter. Because you don't have a filter at all, I'd suspect that's the case.
The heavy breathing is probably from either ammonia or nitrite poisoning.
Ammonia poisoning is characterized by red or bleeding gills, darker color, and gasping for breath. It can be prevented but not cured. Ammonia causes permanent damage to the gills and the only humane course is euthanasia:
http://happycichlids.com/Freshwater_Disease_Identification_and_Treatement/euthanasia.html
Nitrite poisoning occurs when too much nitrite in the blood stream blocks the ability of the red blood cells to carry oxygen. Ultimately, a fish will die from lack of oxygen to the brain or other organ failure.
Both are problems that typically happen in an un-cycled or new tank.
The best thing to do:
See if your LFS or someone else will take the fish until your tanks cycle.
To speed that up you can go to your local fish store (or a friend of yours) and ask for some gravel or filter media from one of their established tanks. Gently rinse it in tank water from which you got the material (NOT TAP WATER) and then add that to your tank.
So you have 3 tanks?
55g. How long has it been set up?
29g. How long has ib been set up?
8g
Right?
Oh, get a new test kit too.
Tetra makes a very good one, like this:
http://thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/tetra%2ctest/Class//T1/F73+0393+0439/EDP/7888/Itemdy00.aspx
http://thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/tetra%2ctest/Class//T1/F73+0393+0442/EDP/7905/Itemdy00.aspx
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