Bettas and Guppies are very well known fishes for aquarium keepers. People love to keep Bettas and Guppies as their pets. But can Betta fish and Guppies live together? In this article, we will discuss if Betta fish can live with Guppies and how you can keep your lovely betta and guppies together. So let’s get started.
Can Betta Fish Live With Guppies?
There is no short answer to this question but it leans towards YES. You can keep these fishes together after doing some adjustments. We will discuss that in this article.
Betta fish are Asian natives, where they prefer to live in shallow water, ponds, and streams. Guppy and Betta both are freshwater species having astonishing and multifaceted strains.
Different patterns, colors, and variety of tails describe the beauty of betta. While Guppies have a decent amount of hybridization, colors, strains and tail types.
Comparing the nature of both the species, we will find that a Guppy fish’s nature is much more tranquil. Whereas, the nature of Betta fish is aggressive. It is challenging to keep them together in the same tank due to their distinct nature. But if you take certain precautions, your betta fish can live with guppies very easily.
How to keep Betta Fish and Guppies Together?
These are the necessary precautions you should take before you add guppies to your betta fish tank:
Community Tanks and Water Temperature
A tank that houses various species of compatible fish in an aquarium is a community tank. Temperature, water hardness, and temperament are necessary factors. Bettas are a hit or miss to keep in community tanks for their aggressive nature. The entire Survival depends on the temperament of betta. They act aggressive to those species which they assume to be their own kind, they usually do not attack all. You can consider community tank once your betta gets along with tank mates. The water temperature of the betta tank must be between 77 to 82 degrees Farenheight. Guppies require a temperature between 74 to 82 degrees Farenheight. So betta fish and guppies can live together at the same temperature.
Preparing Tank for betta
Since Betta prefer to live in shallow water, it is generally warm. That’s why betta fish requires 2.5 gallons of water per fish in a tank. Further requirements include regular cleaning of aquariums and excellent filtration. You can also use enrichment such as rocks, caves and live plants.
Water pH for Bettas and Guppies
Bettas love to swim in acidic and soft water. They can familiarize with a wide range of water state. But it is important to keep them in soft water for their long life. Betta fish requires a pH of 7 and Guppies require a pH of 6.8 to 7.8. So betta fish and guppies both can live in almost the same pH level which is good for keeping them together. Try keeping the pH level around 7 always.
Selection of Tank Size for keeping Bettas and Guppies
Space is always an important factor for your fish. Sometimes people overcrowd their aquarium, which can cause serious health issues to fish. You can add up to 4 to 5 guppy fish and a Betta fish in an aquarium of 10 gallons (40 liters) without any hesitation. In a huge aquarium, it is easy to keep and maintain water parameters.
Keep Only 1 Betta in the Tank with Guppies
You won’t run into an overstocking scenario that takeovers the chemistry of water. It also leads to the enhancement of aggressive nature in fish. You can increase the number of guppies once you have a larger tank. Add only single betta along with your guppies in the same aquarium. You must invest in quality equipment, and a filter system to guarantee good water quality.
Select the Right Breed of Betta Fish
Betta fish are aggressive species. Though, different breeds are available when it comes to Betta fish. Many of these breeds are more peaceful while others have aggressive conduct. So, if anyone wants to put guppy and Betta together in an aquarium, it is vital to select the appropriate breed.
Best Option & different Betta Breeds
The best option is to opt for the breed of betta who is passive and less aggressive in nature. For this type of nature, you can choose among the HALFMOON BETTA FISH and DELTA BETTA FISH. So, it is not good to assume that every Betta fish is well-matched with Guppy. Thus it is a better idea to stick with the above two mentioned breeds. This will guarantee that the Betta fish can coexist with the guppy.
Keep Smaller Breed of Betta Fish
As mentioned above, it is a good idea to opt for the breed of betta who is peaceful and less aggressive in nature. Especially, when you are going to share the same tank with the other fish. You can go for the smaller size breed, as it is also a good option. Because, the smaller the Betta fish, the less dangerous it will be for your guppies.
Limit the Quantity of Betta Fish
Due to the aggressive nature of Betta fish, it is most likely to happen that they hunt down guppy fish. To prevent this act of bettas, you have to reduce their quantity. You should put only one Betta in an aquarium because they can attack each other. Female betta tends to be a more peaceful while, male Betta is more violent generally.
Bettas are Natural Predators
Betta fish are predators and usually attack the fins of guppy fish. This can result in severe health concerns for the guppies who live with trimmed fins. Keeping one Betta fish with many guppies is the finest way to go with. In this way, you can divert the focus of betta on one guppy.
You will not have to suffer from the wounded guppies by Bettas if you keep one Betta fish with many guppies.
Intensify the Number of Live Plants
Up surging the number of live plants in the tank can provide guppy fish in a natural environment. This must also include a proper place to hide. Break your aquarium sidelines with live plants. This keeps Betta fish interests away from the specific guppy fish. By the time, Betta fish will also hide among live plants because of their natural behavior. So the addition of live plants leads towards favorable conditions. These conditions are favorable for both guppies and Betta fish.
Different Plant Types
You can keep different plant types in your water tank with Betta and guppy fish. Names include Watersprite, Guppy grass, Java Ferns, Hornworts, Amazon swords, and Java Moss. These are some plants which provide much space to betta and guppies fish to hide.
Hard Water and Soft Water Fish
Hard water fish need to adapt to the environment of soft water. This is like soft water fish adapting to the hard water. The minerals which are the requirements of fish, they get from the water they live in. The fish get their required minerals if the water is soft. They are slow and lazy in hard water. Soft water fish will get their minerals in any circumstances. Whereas hard water fish require extra efforts to pull the needed minerals. Betta is more comfortable in soft water. On the other hand Guppies like hard water. So keep the water balanced for both fish.
Select Best Food
Betta fish are carnivores which means that they prefer to eat worms, smaller fish and pests. You need to feed a lot of meat items to Betta fish for their better health. Bettas love to consume the Live black worms or frozen blood worms. It is not recommended to give them these species all the time. We will recommend you to select 3-4 items and rotate them weekly or monthly. This helps Bettas to get all their required minerals and vitamins. Betta can survive on a plant root diet. But due to lack of proteins and proper nutrients, they will become sick and die earlier.
Guppies are Omnivores
Guppies are omnivores, they can eat anything you offer them. Betta food is also eaten by them. Guppies can persist and live on Betta food. too much food containing protein is not recommended for them. You can offer them veggie pallets too.
Feed Guppies First
So for the right feeding, it is important to feed Guppies first. Bettas don’t like to consume veggies pellets and flakes. After you realize that Guppies are full, then start feeding Betta special food. Use a pipette for feeding your betta fish. In this way, you can make sure that Guppies will not steal this special food. Betta fish eat all this food.
Try to avoid overfeeding, as it is one of the most communal causes of fish diseases. Feeding once a day or once every two days is enough for the Betta fish.
Guppies Gender
Betta will show their aggressiveness towards any fish they assume as a betta fish. One of the guppy sexes resembled with a betta. Male guppies have very stunning coloration. They are very flashy which attract the attention of female betta. The betta will attack your male guppy, once they misidentify them. Guppies lack in defensive capability. They can only swim away in reply to betta attack and can die of stress. They will die if chased or attacked.
Female Guppies are Large
Luckily, female guppies are larger than males and are very plain in color. They are unlike tamed betta and are often brown or dull gray. Bettas can’t even think that this dull-colored fish as betta and will never attack them.
Alternative Solutions
Feeder guppies are one of the alternative solutions. They are appropriate tank mates of bettas as well. Their minor fins and faded colors are less likely to get the attention of betta to fight them. Both males and females are smaller and dull in color. You will find extensive blood tendency in them, which are a minor class of livebearer. Mix different breeds of Guppies to form minor guppy hybrid and a massive Endler Hybrid.
Small Size Benefits
The advantage of a smaller size is that Betta can consider them less threatening. Due to their size and guppies can have a lot of time to hide from betta. The quality of care is the main issue with the feeder fish. Treat with care and sell at cheap rates.
Bettas and Guppy Fry
It will be either a lose-lose or a win-win situation when you try to mix guppy fry and Betta in the same aquarium. It will be a lose-lose scenario if you want some of the guppy fry to live. Bettas will kill or eat the guppy fry, once they catch them.
Growing Guppy Population
Earlier I have discussed that female guppies can live with bettas. This can be beneficial. Female guppies can preserve semen. They can reproduce in over six months since their last interaction with the male. This can cause the problem of overpopulation. If you initiated with 10 guppies, 2 male, 8 female or 10 females, you may finish up with several hundred in a month. You will have a serious issue with overpopulation. Since they endure to produce progenies for several months. Though you can sell them. If you have a strain in high demand. But it is another challenging task to unload hundreds of fry with high-quality strain.
Controlling the Population
Several livebearer owners give up. That’s because they can’t fix the mechanism of overpopulation. Parents scold their children, who are not chased by them and many still survive. There are several methods to get control overpopulation. It includes babies as you can put a predator in the tank because some don’t have the guts to catch and nourish the babies.
Saving Guppy Fry
Breeding guppies and bettas in the same tank are not less than a challenging task. Finish this task by separating the guppy fry in the breeding box. But it is very common that guppy fry will develop normally in a breeding box and they need space to grow. You can grow Guppies in a separate tank by removing them from the main aquarium. When they grow, you can reintroduce them in the main aquarium again at a later stage.
Controlling Guppies Population
An important task is to control the populace of Guppies in the tank. Because of overcrowding, the tank might look natural but it can degrade the quality of water. When keeping guppy with a betta, not breeding them altogether may be the best option. You can keep only male guppies to make certain that the population does not get beyond.
Conclusion
I would like to conclude that a combination of betta and guppies in the same aquarium is challenging. You will need to make the extra effort and get live plants. Bettas are a beautiful creature that requires proper attention. Because they endure tank mates that are peaceful in nature including Guppy.
For keeping the guppies and bettas in the same aquarium, the owner should be careful. He/She must focus on any misconduct of Betta fish. It would be the worst-case scenario if you find your fish wounded first thing in the morning. Do not consider just any breed of Betta with guppies. Only a small and non-aggressive breed of Betta can live with guppies. That’s how you enjoy the combination of both fish species in your water tank. We can say that it is a mixture of luck and effort to keep both guppies and betta together. Do your research to enjoy the calmness of your aquarium.
In the end, keep an eye on your aquarium. Do all the efforts you can to avoid any issues. Your guppies should live without any danger with bettas. Make sure that you are up to date with all the requirements. If you are planning to house different species in the same aquarium, trends will help you.
These are some of the best tips to follow when keeping fish as your pet and that too the beautiful Betta. Although it lives alone, it is still enough for the aquarium due to its multicolored skin. If you are a fish lover, then don’t waste time and buy your Betta to let the fish keeping adventure begin! If you are ready to take all necessary precautions only then your betta fish can live with guppies happily.