Hey Mongolfishalive,

Welcome to FnF! Although I'm sorry you lost one of your goldies so quickly. Sometimes that happens as they are sometimes already ill, or the stress from bringing them home is too much for them.

However, b/c you described that he seemed fine shortly after bringing him home (he ate, and was active), perhaps something else is going on. How are the other goldies acting right now?

Can you tell us a few things, such as:

- What size tank do you have them in?
- Is there a filter running, or anything to create aeration?
- Are you using a water conditioner/dechlorinator? If so, what?
- What did you feed them and how much?
- Any signs of illness with the other fish... gasping, lethargy, not eating?
- Can you check for signs of velvet amongst the others? Symptoms include lethargy, lack of appetite, clamped fins, possibly darting/rubbing about the tank and a gold, rusty or greyish dusting best seen with a flashlight shining down.
- Can you also check for signs of ich - which looks like they have been sprinkled with grains of sugar or salt?

Here are links to our Goldfish FAQ's and Caresheet for some good information on keeping gold fish so that they thrive.

Also, when buying fish separately (at different times), it's best to quarantine the new fish for a few weeks (4-6) to help ensure that the new fish is not introducing new pathogens into the present, healthy tank. Something to remember for the future...

Let us know more and we'll be able to help more...

Michele