dying fantail goldfish

Question
i bought 3 platy fish and they died within days of  purchases so i  went a bought  two fantail gold fish  and  had then about a week i cleaned their bowl and  put them back into the  water  and the one  was floating to the bottom and fins up  but still  breathing, i would move her around and she would swim a little but  go fins up and  sink. so i took her back to where i bought her ( walmart). and they gave me another one  now the  other one i bought  with the  other one  a week ago  is now  floating to the bottom and  fins up. what  is going on  with  my lil fishies


Answer
Hi Rhonda;

If it's a fish bowl they simply can't live in there. It's too small for anything except a single betta. Goldfish are messy fish that get huge and need a tank of at least 10 gallons per goldfish with good filtration. Platies should have a heater to keep their water temperature stable as well as a tank of 5 gallons or more, and they need a filter. Your new tank is also going through a break-in period so you have to start very slowly to let the system develop biologically. Here are some web pages you might want to see to help you further;

Goldfish and their needs;

http://www.firsttankguide.net/goldfish.php

Platies and their needs;

http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Platy.htm

The break-in period or "cycle";

http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

http://fish.orbust.net/cycling.html

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help (my own page)

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins