Can guppies and goldfish live together? On the surface, it may seem like it would never work, however, if you dig a little bit deeper, you may find that it’s possible to make it work.

So keep reading to find out whether they can live together, and more importantly, how to make it work successfully.

Can Guppies And Goldfish Live Together?

Guppies and goldfish can live together, however, it’s not going to be as easy as putting them in a tank and leaving them to it. You need to make sure that you’ve set the tank up perfectly, otherwise, something could go wrong.

Here’s everything you need to know about keeping guppies and goldfish together!

Guppy And Goldfish Temperaments

First things first, it’s important to know what the temperament of each fish is, to make sure they can coexist peacefully. Let’s start with guppies.

Guppy Temperament

Guppies are extremely peaceful fish, and you’ll rarely, rarely have to worry about them bothering your goldfish or any other species of fish for that matter.

However, that doesn’t mean that they’re never aggressive. And on occasion, you may find you have an aggressive guppy. (However, remember this is extremely rare.)

Aggression though, is much more likely to occur towards other guppies in the tank, especially when it comes to males.

If there are too many male guppies in your tank then they may begin fighting each other in order to mate with the females. This is why it’s so important that you keep 1 male guppy for every 2 or ideally 3 females.

(Find out how many guppies you can keep in a 5 gallon, 10 gallon and 20 gallon tank.)

This will lower the levels of aggression male guppies have, as well as stopping anyone female becoming bothered by too many males at once, which will become extremely stressful.

Guppies like to swim around a lot as well, so make sure you’re giving them plenty of space. Particularly at the middle and top of the tank, where they’ll spend a lot of their time.

Goldfish Temperament

Just like guppies, goldfish tend to be extremely peaceful fish, that aren’t going to attack other fish in the tank for no reason. The only exception to this is when a goldfish is big enough to eat smaller fish.

When this happens, they’ll have no problem eating smaller fish in the tank, especially little guppies. So make sure you’re moving any big goldfish out of your tank to avoid this happening.

Asides from this, goldfish are exceptionally social with their own kind, and you may notice them rubbing up on each other as a way of communicating to each other.

Because of how social goldfish are, it’s important that you don’t keep them on their own. If you can’t keep them with another goldfish, make sure there are other fish in the tank with them to keep them happy.

The older your goldfish get, the more familiar they’re going to become with you as well. When you come close to the tank, they may approach the glass to see you, especially if they think they’re going to get food.

So as you can see, as long as goldfish don’t become too big, they can live happily with guppies.

(If you’re wondering about other great fish that can live with goldfish then check out minnows!)

Guppy And Goldfish Habitat And Tank Requirements

Next up, it’s time to talk about the habitat and tank requirements of both guppies and goldfish. Getting the tank requirements right is essential for their survival.

Guppy Habitat

Guppies originate in flowing freshwater sources across South America, such as streams, rivers, and tributaries. Their habitat will normally be filled with lots of vegetation and other hiding places to keep them safe.

So if you want to help them feel safe in their own tank, make sure you’re creating a tank that mimics their natural habitat.

Guppy Tank Requirements

One of the main tank requirements for your guppy is lots of hiding places. You should be filling your tank with lots of plants, driftwood and caves to help them feel safe.

The best plant that I’d definitely recommend for your tank has to be Anubias Nana. It has large leaves that your guppy will be able to hide under, and it looks fantastic in any tank.

As well as this, you can also try java moss, java ferns and betta bulbs.

You won’t have to worry too much about the substrate, however, normally sandy substrate will most mimic their natural habitat. Although any substrate as long as it isn’t too sharp is absolutely fine.

The tank itself should be a minimum of 10 gallons, which will fit 3 guppies comfortably and give them enough space to swim around. Every additional guppy will then need another 2 gallons of water.

You should keep the temperature of the tank between 72-79°F and the pH between 6.8-7.8.

(Find out more about the ideal pH for guppies.)

Goldfish Habitat

It can be hard to talk about the natural habitat of a goldfish as they’ve been in captivity for so long. If you do find goldfish in the wild, they’d normally be living in slow-moving rivers, streams, and tributaries as well.

However, unlike in South America where the temperature of these streams will tend to stay similar, goldfish can be found in all different temperatures.

They like to live in areas that have lots of vegetation for them to eat as well as insects, to keep their diet balanced.

Goldfish Tank Requirements

Once again, like guppies, to keep your goldfish happy, you should add lots of plant life to your tank. I like to add big leafed plants to my tank, however, goldfish aren’t too fussy.

What they do need is plenty of space to swim, however. To keep goldfish happy they need to start in a 20-gallon tank minimum. And every additional goldfish will need another 10 gallons.

Part of this is due to how much they like to swim around, and the other part is due to how dirty they can be. They produce a lot of waste, and while you should have a filter anyway, it’s essential for keeping goldfish.

Because of how adaptable goldfish are they can live in temperature between 50-78°F. However, you should try not to reach either end of that spectrum. To keep them happily with guppies you should keep the tank temperature around 74/75°F.

As well as this, the pH level of the tank should be between 6.5-7.5. So you won’t have to adjust it too much if you’re keeping them with guppies.

Guppy And Goldfish Diet

Next, it’s important to make sure that you’re feeding both your guppies and goldfish properly. Fortunately, their diets tend to be pretty similar, so you won’t have to make too many changes for either of them.

Guppy Diet

Guppies are omnivores, so they’re going to need to be fed a mixture of plant food and meat. Normally you can get all of this in tropical fish flakes like TetraMin Tropical Flakes.

But you shouldn’t just rely on tropical flakes to feed your guppies. As well as this, you should be varying their diet with live food and plant matter.

Daphnia, brine shrimp and mosquito larvae are the best choices, and if you can’t get your hands on the live version of them, then freeze dried and frozen can also work.

On top of this feeding them blanched vegetables, putting vegetation in their tank, and letting them feed of algae are great ways to make sure they’re getting enough plants in their diet as well.

Goldfish Diet

Just like guppies goldfish are also omnivores. While you can give them guppy food, and vice versa, give guppies goldfish food, this isn’t recommended. Instead you should give your goldfish food that was designed specifically for them. To make sure they’re getting all the nutrients they need.

And of course, on top of this, also feed them live food on occasion just like guppies, as well as blanched vegetables, algae and other plant matter.

So How Do You Make It Work?

As you can see, while it is possible to keep guppies and goldfish together, it’s not going to be as easy as keeping other fish species together. But if you want to make it work, here’s what you should do.

Start With A Good Sized Tank

You’re going to want to makes sure that you have a good sized tank. So you should keep them together in a tank that’s a minimum size of 20 gallons. This can comfortably house 1 goldfish and 3 guppies.

If you want to add more goldfish, then increase the size of the tank by 10 gallons. If you want to add more guppies, then increase the size of the tank by 2 gallons.

Make Sure The Goldfish Don’t Become Too Big

Next, you’ll need to make sure that the goldfish don’t become too big. When they’re too big they’re going to begin eating your guppies. If you notice your goldfish is getting too big then you’ll either need to remove the guppies or remove the goldfish and place them in another tank.

Keep The Temperature Constant

Next, you’ll need to make sure that you’re keeping the temperature constant. And that it’s not too hot or too cold. 74-75°F is going to be the sweet spot for keeping the two fish together, and you should install a heater to make sure the tank remains at that temperature.

Give The Guppies Lots Of Places Too Hide

And lastly, you should give your guppies lots of places to hide so they feel safe. Plants are the best for this but ornaments work as well.

(Find out some more great tank mates that can live with your goldfish!)

Recap

Now you know that guppies and goldfish can live together! If you follow the advice in this article then your guppies and goldfish are going to be happy and coexist peacefully!

Make sure to check out the rest of the articles on this website. Otherwise have a great day!