Taking care of goldfish won at a carnival

We came home with 2 goldfish from a carnival last night. Our past experience has been that they die within 24 hours. The kids seem more attached and I'm wondering what to do to extend their lifespan. Type of water? Food? Space per goldfish?

I'd get at the very least a 20 gallon tank for them-bigger would be better. Could start with a 10 gallon, but they grow kinda quick will need a larger tank. Goldfish produce a lot of ammonia naturally, and ammonia will quickly rise in a small tank, that's why it's recommend they have a larger tank& also because those little feeder fish can end up at about 9 inches.(Mine are about 8 inches now)Make sure it has a filter too. Buy one of those small siphons, and change out about 20-25% of the water every week. I feed mine goldfish sinking pellets, it's a dollar for a small bottle of it. I feed mine every other day. Tap water is fine, just be sure to use a water conditioner/dechlorinator(I use Prime) before adding it to the tank. I've had my goldfish for about 4 years now, they can live a very long time if cared for properly(upwards to 30 years).

If you end up going with a tank, (I strongly recommend NOT putting them in a bowl or small 5 gallon tank, see link) you'll need to know about cycling a fish tank. Here's a link for that. Actually, goldfish are pretty hardy and they're often used to cycle a tank.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art3.

Do a search for cycling a fish tank, will explain the nitrogen cycle for you.