Can guppies and mollies live together? If you’re interested in a community tank, this is definitely one question that will cross your mind at some point.

This article aims to give you all the information you need to decide whether you should keep guppies and mollies together. And more importantly, how to do it successfully!

So keep reading to find out everything you need to know!

Can Guppies And Mollies Live Together?

Yes, guppies and mollies can live together, and they actually work well together. However, if the right requirements aren’t met, then some aggression may occur (from the mollies.) And there is always a slight risk that mollies will nip fish that have long fins such as guppies.

So before you put the two fish together in a tank make sure you read the article below to find out the best chances of success.

Temperaments

It’s important to understand the temperament of each fish to understand how they can coexist together. Being aware of their behavior can often give you clues as to why they’re acting in a certain way, and can help you stop them acting like it!

Let’s start with guppies.

Guppy Temperament

Guppies are a lot more peaceful than mollies, so you won’t really have to worry about their temperament at all. It’s extremely rare for guppies to be aggressive to other species in the tank.

However, that doesn’t mean aggression won’t arise between male guppies. If there are too many male guppies in the tank and not enough females, they may act aggressively towards each other. This is why you should keep a minimum of 1 male for every 2 females. However, the more females to males, the better.

As well as this you’ll also notice that your guppies like to swim around A LOT. While you’ll notice them all over the tank they’ll mainly favor the top and middle. If you notice that they’re constantly hiding then they may not feel safe. Sometimes there may even be a bully in the tank

Molly Temperament

Mollies are also peaceful fish and make great additions to any community tank, as long as their needs are met.

If you put them in a tank that is too overcrowded, or where there’s not enough space then the chances of them being aggressive are going to increase. And when they are feeling aggressive, guppies can make an ideal target for them, because they’re small with long tails. So this is definitely something to bare in mind.

Once again, when keeping mollies together, you should have more females than males. Ideally, you could have a shoal full of females so there would be no harassment from males (and also no babies).

Just like guppies, mollies are also extremely active fish, you’ll find them swimming happily around the whole tank, although once again, they’ll prefer the top and middle areas.

(If you’re not sure about mollies, then why not keep platies and guppies?)

Habitat And Tank Requirements

When putting guppies and mollies together, you also need to make sure that each of their tank requirements are met.

Fortunately, both fish have similar requirements. By catering to one fish you’ll most likely be catering to the others as well.

Here’s what their natural habitat is like, as well their tank requirements.

Guppy Habitat

Guppies are found in the freshwater streams, rivers, and tributaries in South America. These areas will normally have lots of vegetation for them to hide amongst, and branches to shade them and keep them safe.

So make sure you’re replicating this as best you can in the tank.

Tank Requirements

When you’re making a tank for your guppies you should make sure there are plenty of places for them to hide. You can do this by adding lots of plants in the tank. Some great plants to choose are java fern, java moss, and especially anubias.

As well as adding lots of plants, you should also make sure that you’re adding lots of driftwood and other ornaments that give them a place to hide as well. I like to keep my tank looking natural, but even unnatural decoration will keep them satisfied (as long as their safe.)

The tank however, should be a minimum of 10 gallons in size. Guppies are active fish and they like to swim, so they’ll need the space. However, remember, bigger is always better.

The temperature of the tank should stay between 72-79°F and the pH should be between 6.8-7.8.

If you do all this your guppies are going to be happy. But the same can’t be said for your mollies.

(Did you know guppies can live with goldfish?!)

Molly Habitat

Mollies are able to adapt to a lot more environments in comparison to guppies, so this makes setting up a tank for them a little bit easier. However, for the most part they’re once again going to be found in rivers and streams (normally the shallower parts).

These areas will normally be full of plants and hiding places for them to stay safe. And the substrate tends to be sandy more often than not.

Tank Requirements

The biggest tank requirement you’ll need to be aware of when keeping guppies and mollies together is the size of the tank. Unlike guppies that can live happily in tanks that are 10 gallons in size, mollies are going to need a tank that’s bigger.

Because they can grow up to 4″ in size, it’s important that you give them a tank which matches this. 20 gallons is the minimum tank size for mollies to go in, however, once again, they’ll love to live in a bigger tank.

It’s also important to make sure that the tank doesn’t become too overcrowded. Otherwise your mollies are more likely to become aggressive.

You should also make sure that your tank is well planted for mollies too. The plants that guppies like will also work great for mollies, so you won’t have to change too much there. However, when it comes to the substrate you may find that mollies prefer a sandy substrate whereas guppies are indifferent.

Lastly, mollies need to be kept between a temperature of 75-82°F and a pH between 6.8-7.8 to be happy. If you’re going to keep 3 mollies, they can live happily in a 20 gallon tank. However, you should add 3 more gallons for every molly after that.

(You can also try keeping mollies and angelfish together.)

Diet

Next up, you need to make sure that both fish are getting the right kind of food. Fortunately, this is extremely easy. Both mollies and guppies are omnivores so it means you’ll need to feed them a mixture of vegetation and meat.

The plants in your tank will provide some of the vegetation they need, as well as any algae that grows. However, you shouldn’t just rely on that. You should also make sure that you’re adding blanched vegetables on occasion as a treat.

As well as this, it may also be a good idea to add live food to the tank every once in a while to make sure they’re getting the nutrition they need from there as well. Mosquito larvae, brine shrimp, and daphnia are your best choices. They’re full of chitin rich skeletons that provide fiber, as well as being full of other essential nutrients as well.

You may have heard that you can feed bloodworms to your fish, however, they should definitely only be used as a treat. Bloodworms are quite fatty, and they can cause health issues if fed to your fish too often.

But the most important thing you can feed your mollies and guppies is nutritional fish flakes. High quality flakes are going to have all the neccessary nutrients that your fish need to thrive, and they can be easily measured and fed to your fish.

If you’re not sure what fish flakes to give your tropical fish, then I highly recommend TetraMin Tropical Flakes.

And it’s also important to remember that both guppies and mollies always appear hungry. They will happily eat and eat which can cause constipation and other issues later on. As well as this, feeding them too much will cause waste to build up in the tank as well. So make sure you only feed them small portions at a time. (Normally no more than they can eat for 2 minutes, twice a day.)

Breeding

One thing you’ll need to stay aware of when keeping guppies and mollies together is that it’s very likely they’re going to breed. Both guppies and mollies are livebearing fish.

On average guppies breed every 30 days, each time producing 20-50 babies. Mollies also breed every 30 days, however, they’re likely to have anywhere between 10-60 babies.

Luckily for you (but not the babies), guppies and mollies feel no love for their children and will happily eat them. While most of them will be eaten, you can never be certain they will all be eaten. In fact, there have been many times, I’ve noticed some fry grow to full grown adults in my tank.

If you want to reduce the chances of them breeding, then it’s a good idea to keep the temperature in the tank on the lower end. Warmer temperatures recreate the conditions they like for breeding more.

Lastly, if you want to raise the fry, then you’ll need to remove them as soon as possible and put them in the new tank. In that tank, you’ll only need to feed them crushed up tropical fish flakes until they’re grown.

Can Guppies And Mollies Breed Together?

There have actually been cases of mollies and guppies breeding together. When this happens you’ll notice that they have the bodies of a molly, however, slightly smaller. And they also keep the coloring of the guppies.

However, this is an incredibly rare phenomenon and the chances of it happening in your tank are slim.

Recap

Now you know as long as the right condition are met, both guppies and mollies can live together. You’ll need to keep them in a tank that’s a minimum of 20 gallons in size which is well planted and heated.

They can be fed off the same diet, and ideally you’re going to want to keep more females than males of both species.

The biggest thing to be aware of is the amount of breeding that will happen, so be prepared for more fish in your tank than you originally added.