Betta fish, especially males, are famous for their aggressive, territorial personalities. Finding suitable tankmates for your betta can be tricky. Guppies are among fish enthusiasts as are bettas, so can guppies live with bettas peacefully and comfortably?
Bettas and common guppies can live together, and a range of water parameters suits both fish species. Avoid adding fancy guppies or other guppies with long tails to your betta tank because long, bright fins can trigger betta fish.
Can Bettas And Guppies Live Peacefully?
Guppies and bettas can get along but being strategic about the right combination of tank mates and setup is important.
Siamese fighting fish are famous, or infamous depending on how you look at it, for their aggressive, territorial personalities and behaviors.
Guppies, on the other hand, are generally peaceful community fish. They do not display aggression unless the tank is overcrowded or other factors make the living conditions in the aquariums suboptimal.
A small school of single-gender simple feeder guppies is a great choice of tankmates for betta fish.
Avoid adding fancy guppies or other long-finned sort of guppies. Fancy guppies have luxurious caudal fins, which can stress out and trigger your betta fish. Bright colors and long tails in other fish lead to more aggressive behaviors in bettas.
Can Male Betta Live with Guppies?
A single male betta can live with a school of simple guppies (4-8 fish). Avoid having more than one male betta in the same aquarium.
One male betta and a small sorority of female bettas can coexist peacefully with a small school of guppies, as long as your tank is spacious enough.
Can Females Bettas Live with Guppies?
A single female betta or several female bettas can live with simple guppies.
You might need to observe the dynamics in your aquarium but sometimes small schools of both species do better than a solo female betta and a school of guppies. The schools of both species feel more confident that way and get along well, as long as the tank is spacious enough.
Can Bettas and Guppies Live in the Same Water Conditions?
Guppies and bettas are surface-dwelling fish, so your tank should provide a good surface area for the fish to swim comfortably. A wide and shallow tank is better than a tall narrow tank.
There is a range of temperature and pH that makes both species happy and a range of water hardness that both species can tolerate well.
| Parameter | Betta | Guppy |
| Temperature | 76-85°F (24.5-29.5°C) | 72-82°F (22-28°C) |
| pH | 6.5-8.0 | 7.0-7.8 |
| General hardness | 3-4 dGH (50-66 ppm) | 8-12 dGH (150-200 ppm) |
| Flow | slow-moving, calm water, well-oxygenated | slow-moving, calm water, well-oxygenated |
Bettas prefer softer water than guppies but there is an acceptable hardness range they both accept. Finding the range of guppies and bettas that can tolerate comfortably is important.
Betta fish can tolerate higher than ideal hardness: up to 20 dGH. Guppies can adapt to softer water as well.
- If you keep the hardness of your water at the lower ideal level for guppies, specifically 8 dGH or even slightly lower, bettas and guppies will live in such conditions comfortably.
- Keep the water temperature in the high 70s °F (mid-20s °C)
- Keeping pH above 7 and below 7.8 will make both species happy.
The water in the aquarium should be slow-moving with plenty of decorations to diffuse water movement generated by a filter.
Additional Considerations
Feeding Betta and Guppies in the Same Tank
Ensuring that your guppies and bettas get the nutrition they need is important, especially given the sometimes unpredictable dynamics between the two fish species.
Bettas are strictly carnivorous but guppies eat meaty and plant-based foods. Guppies are also quick so they might eat some of your bettas’ foods.
When you feed your fish, try to visually observe that all the tank mates get the nutrition they need by eating the food intended for them.
Can Guppies Eat Betta Food?
Guppies can eat betta food but betta food cannot be guppies’ only source of nutrition.
Guppies are omnivores, so they need plant-based food sources and solely meat-based foods, which are the core of bettas’ nutrition.
Bettas and guppies also need different amounts of vitamins and other microelements, and pellets and flakes made specifically for bettas do not match guppies’ needs. The foods made for small tropical fish have the proper combination for guppies. For example, flakes made for carnivorous bettas usually contain higher protein than those made for omnivorous fish such as guppies.
Can Bettas Eat Guppy Food?
Bettas can eat guppies’ food for a few days but their nutritional needs are entirely different from guppies’ needs.
Guppies’ foods have more fiber and less protein and can be harder to digest for a betta fish. They would also eventually lead to malnutrition if used exclusively for extended time.
How Much Room Do Bettas and Guppies Need in One Tank?
A small school of guppies needs about 5 gallons (19 L) of water.
If you have one male or female betta and want to add 3-4 guppies, you need a 10-gallon (38L) aquarium.
Keeping a small sorority of bettas with 3-4 guppies in a 10-gallon (38 L) tank is acceptable, but a 15-gallon (57 L) aquarium or larger would make your fish more comfortable (and reduce altercations).
Remember that having an aquarium with a wide surface area is more important than providing depth because bettas and guppies like to spend time on top and in the middle of the tank.
To learn more about fish species compatible with betta fish, follow this link to our post here on bettas & compatible tank mates.
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