My fantail goldfish keep dying

Question
Ok..I bought my 11yr old daughter a 5 gallon tank and live plants for her fish..they died withing the first week and I was told they need a bigger tank...so I bought a 10 gallon tank. I did the cycling like I was told and added the conditioner to the water. The first fish died within a week..I assume it was the ick and it's tail was deteriorating. 2 days later..the other one died and it had ick and it's tail was deteriorating too. I have gone thru 8 fish total now, and they have all died in the same way. I have changed the water and done partial changes thru out. I have all the testing kits and the ammonia was pretty low. I have horrible well water which is high in iron. My poor daughter is soo sad that her fish keep dying...and I don't know why. Can you please help??? She wants me to go buy her 2 new ones..but I'm afraid they will just die again!

Answer
Hi Heather,
  Where are you buying these goldfish?  Unfortunately, unknown to most people are two key facts about goldfish. First, they are actually not an easy fish to keep alive. Secondly, many if not most of the goldfish you see in stores, particularly if it is not an actual fish pet store, are sick even before you buy them and will die no matter what you do.  

  Personally, I NEVER buy goldfish and stay far away from them.  
If I were you, I would get a single convict cichlid. Do not get two or five -- no, they do not get lonely -- just get one.  The convict cichlid is about 1000 times more intelligent than a goldfish and far more interesting to watch over time.  

-- Ron C.
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>