Both guppies and goldfish are the most popular aquarium fishes. They are known for their calm and peaceful nature. Not only beginners but seasoned veterans also want to keep goldfish and guppies in the tank.
These fishes have beautiful colors and add beauty to your aquarium. Their swimming gives a beautiful view of the tank. Studies show that the interacting fish in an aquarium has positive effects on well being of humans.
It is a fact that the fishes don’t require much maintenance and they can be kept in a bowl or bottle. But if you want the goldfish and guppies to be in the same tank. You will have to consider and follow many points to keep the goldfish and guppies together.
In most pet shops, different fishes are kept in the same tank. Unknowingly, some beginners also do it without proper care and attention.
Do not do that. Guppies and goldfish have different natures and also vary in size.
Their breeding and feeding habits are different and can be affected if placed in the same tank without proper measures.
So Can Guppies and Goldfish live together? In this post, you will get a complete guide of whether you can keep goldfish and guppies in the same tank. And what conditions you have to follow to keep the tank ideal for both fishes.
Can Goldfish and Guppies Be in The Same Tank?
The answer to the question that can guppies and goldfish live together is both yes and no.
If you can maintain the tank with all the conditions at an ideal level, the answer is yes.
Guppies and goldfish can love together if you give them the environment of the tank according to their need. But if you can’t follow up on the conditions and don’t give proper care, you will not be able to keep the goldfish and guppies in the same tank.
Despite their peaceful nature, you can confront different problems. From their nature to temperature, and from feeding to breeding, follow up the pain points.
Here’s what you have to do to keep the fishes together.
Do Guppies and Goldfish Differ in Nature?
While keeping the goldfish and guppies together in the same tank, knowing their nature will be a good idea. Having knowledge of the wild habitat of both the fishes will lead you to maintain better tank conditions.
The guppy fishes are tropical fish. They are found in both saltwater and freshwater. The term tropical is used to specify the fish that need warmer temperatures in the tank. Guppy fish is the best tropical fish with bright colors and a beautiful body.
The goldfish are most commonly found in slow-moving freshwater bodies.
Goldfish needs a cooler temperature than guppies. They live in slightly murky water with plants. But that doesn’t mean the tank water to be dirty.
Goldfish eats algae and therefore needs plants in the tank. Comparatively, goldfishes are stronger than guppies. They can tolerate some temperature fluctuations or dirt in the tank.
How to Maintain the Ideal Water Conditions in the Tank
Maintaining the ideal water temperature is the major concern when keeping the goldfish and guppies in the same tank.
Temperature fluctuations and shocks can also cause the death of fishes in certain cases. Guppy being a tropical fish requires a temperature of 74-82 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a slightly warmer temperature, and you may need a heater to maintain the tank for the only guppy.
But the goldfish require a cooler temperature of 60-78 degrees Fahrenheit, depending upon the breed. Too cold temperature can make the guppy ill. And keeping the goldfish in warmer temperatures for a long time can make them stressed.
If you want to keep both fishes in the same tank, set the temperature which will suit both. Ideally, maintain a temperature of 70-72 degrees Fahrenheit will be best for guppy and goldfish. They can live together in the same tank at their proper temperature.
How Much Do Goldfish and Guppy Differ in Size
There is a great difference in the size of guppy and goldfish in captivity. Depending upon the breeds, goldfish have different sizes.
But in general, goldfish are bigger than guppy fish. Goldfish usually grow to a size of 1-2 inches long in the fish tank. If the conditions are suitable and they are kept in the bigger tank, they can grow to about 6 inches. While guppies are just the size of 1-3 inches.
When you buy the fishes from the pet store, they are of small size. And you can easily keep them in the same tank. But as they grew in the tank, their size could create many problems.
For a bigger goldfish smaller guppy could be a great snack. In short, goldfish can eat guppies.
The size of goldfish also affects the breeding of guppy:
How Goldfish Affect the Breeding of Guppy
Guppies are live-bearing fishes. Meaning they keep their eggs inside the body and give birth to young ones. These young ones are termed guppy fries. Keeping the male and female guppies in the same tank leads to the birth of about 20-120 fries at a time. These fries are of smaller size, about 0.6mm in length.
The guppy fries are an easy and tasty snack for goldfish. Thus the goldfish affect the breeding of guppies.
If you want to protect the guppy fries from goldfish, you will have to take some preventive measures.
You can separate the guppies from goldfish and can grow them in another tank. Now, you will have to maintain two tanks of fishes. An alternative way is to have a breeding box in the tank. You can keep the guppy fish in the breeding box when she is about to give birth to young ones. And keep the fries in the breeding box until they attain the size needed for their survival.
Are Guppies Fin Nippers?
Not only the large size of goldfish is a threat, but the small-sized guppy can also do notorious things. In this sense, guppies are considered bad tank mates.
Chasing females by males is a normal breeding behavior. But the females can also become aggressive when constantly chased by males. Yes, guppies can also nip the fins of goldfish. This is also a reason not to keep the guppies and goldfish in the same tank.
Guppies can tear the fins of goldfish. If you want to keep them together, a tank of a larger size will be a good choice. Guppies will find more space to move around the tank, and goldfish can remain safe.
Maintain Right Conditions for Guppy Goldfish Tank
Keeping both the fishes in the same tank requires a lot of care and the right tank conditions. If the tank conditions are not suitable, fishes can prone to diseases and death occurs. From plants to tank size, consider the following points to maintain ideal tank conditions.
Growing plants in the tank: Goldfish eat plants like algae. Plants are necessary to be in the tank as the fish can eat them when hungry.
Goldfish and guppies are omnivorous and need a plant-based diet. You can grow different plants in a tank. Plants will also clean the atmosphere of the tank.
You should grow plants by keeping in mind that goldfish will not eat them. Duckweed and java ferns are the best choice for a guppy goldfish tank. Duckweed will prevent nitrate formation in the tank. And also goldfish will readily eat the duckweed.
Duckweed has a faster growth rate and will not disappear easily. If goldfish are much more hungry, they can ignore the plants and go for a guppy diet. Guppies don’t eat many plants and used to nibble on them.
Maintaining the right Ph: Ph is necessary to be maintained in the guppy goldfish tank. As the fishes are of different nature, ph changes can cause health issues. Goldfish like to live in acidic water while guppy lives in alkaline water.
To maintain tank best for both fishes, maintain the ph range at a neutral level of 7. Too high or low ph can cause diseases in the fish or may cause death. If the water of the tank is not altered for many days, the water becomes acidic. Acidic water will negatively affect the health of guppies.
Keeping the tank clean: Dirty water has adverse effects on the health of both fishes. Dirty water has a low oxygen level. In low oxygen availability, goldfish release ammonia in the tank. It can cause poisoning to goldfish.
The remaining food also releases harmful bacteria prone fish to diseases. Effective cleaning is necessary to keep your fishes healthy. You must regularly change the water of the tank to avoid ammonia poisoning. Changing water once a week will be best as both the fishes create waste in the tank. If you don’t have time for a frequent water change. You can have a filter for the tank.
A tank of good size: A tank of good size is necessary for the fishes to thrive. PETA recommends having at least a 5-gallon water tank for one fish. So depending on your number of fishes, you can calculate the size of the tank. Also, a larger aquarium is easy to maintain.
Larger tanks are preferred as the fish will get more oxygen on increased water surface area. Aquariums overcrowded with fishes has low dissolved oxygen level. Small tanks also restrict the swimming habits of guppy and goldfish. In short, a small tank is not good for the health and activity of guppies and goldfish. Choose the best tank according to the number of fishes.
Guppies and Goldfish Differs in Their Dietary Requirement
Certainly, guppies and goldfish have different dietary requirements. Food for goldfish cannot accomplish the needs of guppies.
Guppies can eat goldfish food. But the less protein goldfish food is not much healthy for a guppy. Goldfish flakes can create mineral and nutrients deficiencies in guppies affecting their color and lifespan. Apart from that, goldfish are notorious eaters.
They eat everything provided to them. Thus leaving less to eat for guppies. Guppies no doubt move faster, but they will get less food. So your goldfish will steal and hijack the food of guppies by considering it as their own.
Providing excessive food to the fishes causes poisoning in the tank. Leftover food can cause bacterial invasion. So provide the only portion of food that fishes can eat at one time.
Choose the Right Goldfish
Goldfish is of great concern for keeping the guppy and goldfish in the same. How you can avoid the fact that goldfish can eat guppies.
Here’s the deal:
Choose the right goldfish type. Most of the goldfish grow to larger size enough to eat guppies.
So when you are buying the goldfish, remember to buy the breed that will not grow much larger. Fancy goldfish don’t grow larger than 20cm. Therefore, fancy goldfishes are a good choice as they are passive swimmers.
They also cannot eat guppy fries. Jikins and Veilteils are also small-sized goldfish. They grew to a size of about 7 inches. Keeping these small size goldfish reduces the threat as they cannot eat guppies.
By all the discussion, it is clear now that how you can keep the goldfish and guppies together. Guppies and goldfish have different natures and dietary requirements. You can keep them in the same tank if you can follow the best-provided conditions. Care is necessary to keep the fishes healthy in a tank. But if you don’t have much time and can’t take proper care, go for an alternative. It will not be the best option then, to keep the guppies and goldfish together in the same tank.