Hey everyone, I was just wondering, are guppies compatible with goldfish?

I'd say no, as guppies are pretty small, and could easily fit into a goldfish's mouth. It might be fine while the goldie was small, but guppies prefer warmer temps anyway... IMO, I wouldn't put them together.

Yep I agree. I keep mine in a seperate tank. The guppies stay so small, and I've noticed that my goldies can be bullies at times and I would think that a tiny little guppy getting knocked by even a small goldie could cause some damage.

No, this emoticon isn't being used to call anyone crazy, but the goldies are only 1-2inches, but there are 2 of them used to the 10 gal. tank at my dad"s, 2 coming from my mom's house saturday, two are mine, 2 are my sister's, all very peaceful, the ones at my mom's have been kept alone, 1 in a 1gal. tank, 1 in a 2.5gal tank, and I know its rule of thumb not to put a common pleco with goldfish, but I did, accidentally put one in the 10 gal. tank at my dad's,and he actually is kind of afraid of the 2 goldies I have with him, he's 3-4 inches, the tank at my dad's has a hood type cover, a bubble wall, a whisper power filter 10, and plenty of hiding spots, a couple the goldies can't fit into. My sister's ryukin at my dad's chases around my smaller pearlscale playfully from time to time, the heater will probably be put in saturday, but many hours before I get the guppies the same day, its submersible, oh, and otherwise all the fish are fancy goldfish and a common pleco and are all pretty peaceful.

Well actually the problem with putting the common pleco in with goldfish is as the common pleco grows up, he gets kind of, and sometimes, incredibly aggressive. But other then that I'm sorry but I'm confused as to whats going on.

:listen: Sorry for confusing you, the point I'm trying to get out is that the goldfish aren't that big, only 1-2 inches, and are very peaceful.

Goldfish grow big.. and they grow fast. Guppies.. stay little. When the goldfish do get bigger, they'll just view the guppies as live food. So its really not a good mix. Are you wanting to put them into your dads tank or where are these guppies going again? From what I'm reading you want to put four goldfish, a common pleco, and some guppies in a ten gallon tank, is that correct?

Yes.

goldfish need a MINIMUM of 10 gallons EACH. I don't care if they're small. They produce soooo much waste that they foul water which in turn sickens them or kills them. Having that many fish (and the wrong combination at that) is only asking for disaster. Maybe you need to read up on your fish?

She's right, hun. You'd need at least 40 gallons just for the goldfish. And that combination of fish will never work. The goldfish will end up eating the guppies, and the pleco will end up killing the goldfish. Thats if they don't all die from ammonia poisoning first.

The answer is a big no, i think your already overstock.
And guppies are tropical fish, goldfish arn't. And im possitive the
guppies would stress the goldfish out.

I'm all for getting a bigger tank, and I know the amount of water required for goldfish, I also did as much research as humanly possible, and I know I'm wrong about combining the two, but I still want to try it, besides, if they don't get along, I have three quarantine tanks to separate them. Oh, and in the case of the tank size issue, I don't think my dad would let me get a bigger tank, and I don't Know if my $75 is enough to cover the cost of a 40 gal and all the equipment. Oh, and I would like to know why the guppies would stress out the goldies.

Well IMO if he lets you have 3 QT tanks i dont see why hed be so upset about 1 big one. Sell off all the little tanks, buy a 50g, and keep the 10g as your QT, or guppy tank. If you cant do this i would suggest getting rid of the goldfish. Becuase honestly, i dont think youd rather them suffer in the 10gallon with a pleco and the guppies.

Trust me, they will die a very long, drawn out and painful death from stress desease and ammoina as well as all the other horrors of being kept in a place thats too small. Sorry hun, but when it boils down to it, its either get them a better home by getting a bigger tank or finding them homes, or let them suffer and die off.

Plus, if you know your wrong and still want to try it, you must not like those fish all that much to over stock the tank so much that it would kill all the inhabitants. Adding more fish to an allready Amazingly overstocked tank is showing us you arent understanding the consequenses of overstocking fish. I am not saying you havent done reaserch, all im saying is that you know how much water fish need, and you know all these fish cant go together, and your still willing to 'try it' in a 10 gallon, you havent understood maybe the things you are reading?

Im very sorry to be harsh, but we are all fish lovers here, and we really get riled up when things like this happen.

sorry. I love my goldies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
will get a bigger tank for goldies
If i do that, could I use the ten gallon tank for guppies and put the common pleco with the guppies, and get a compatible algae for the goldies?

edited by LaurieP.

I'm not sure if the common pleco is compatible with guppies or not, but from what I hear the commons grow rather large and may end up needing more space then a 10 gal, but I'm not positive on how big they grow so maybe some one else can help with that one.

I believe the rubberlipped plecos are good with goldfish from what I hear, but I've never tried a pleco myself. My goldies seem to do a bit of algae eating on their own, so I just keep them with dojo loaches, which seem to do nothing for the algae, but they scavenge up quite a bit of other debris.

Exactly how many guppies will you be getting?

And thank you for making an effort to give your fishys the best enviroment possible. We didn't mean to come off as rude but we love our fish and just want the best possible care for them and are trying to spread awareness about exactly what it REALLY is that goldfish need to be happy and healthy.

That would be alot better, The common pleco could becomes larger
than 12 inches. And 10 gallons isn't enough. Im also having the
same problem. Im going to get a rubbermaid container 20
gallons all for him. Theres going to be a filter and heater and
a terra cotta plant pot with alittle gravel and a peice of wood for him.

You can get a apple snail, theres a few compatable algea cleaners...

Theres a list on the site here

EDIT: sorry about the double post

I've wanted a common pleco for months now, but I really dont have the room for one. I've seen pictures of pretty big ones and they look so neat. Your little set up for him sounds nice. I wish I had the space for that.

B) Actually I changed my mind guppies are too confusing, I'd rather stick to goldfish. Now, I still don't know what to do about the pleco. anyone got any ideas about getting rid of it other than having it euthanized?And no one has responded to my question, it asked if anyone knew of any fish compatible with goldies by personal experience other than the ones koko posted on the website's compatibility list?

You can bring your Pleco back to the pet store.
You can go post in the trade or sell section of the board. Maby
one of the members are intrested in having him.

I have Apple snails, Canas and brigs..... they do great togther but sometimes the goldfish will poke them... but there alright.

Just be careful the cana apple snails will eat live plants.

You want to euthanize a perfectly healthy pleco cause you don't know what to do with it? :angry: Have you tried taking it back to the store you got it from or perhaps giving it away? It sounds to me like you're not ready for fishys.

:listen: Ok guys I know we all love our fishy friends and I am sure we all mean well, but let's please try to remember to post "nicely" to others.
I have had to edit a few things here and there tonight and I know that we need to "play" nice together. OK?????

Einstein you can try your lfs and see if they will take the pleco back. If that doesn't work, friends or even on this site is a buy, sell, trade forum. You could try that.



As far as I know there aren't many other compatible fish with gf. They like to be with their own kind. I know you probably want a varied tank, but to have multiple fish may mean having multiple tanks.

I'm sorry Laurie you're right. I just got frustrated.

I know we all are very passionate about our fishy friends. Me too!!!
But we do have to remember we are here to help others as well as share, learn and socialize with other people.

ok, im going to go totally against the crowd here and say guppies can live peacefully with goldies as long as the water temp is about 76f. i have one in there myself and is about the same size as my fry who are also in the tank with the 4-5" adults and has bonded with the baby group. in all honesty though, he is in the tank with the 'blindies'. one thing i would say is that they are prone to finrot so you need a tank seperate anyway just incase that happens.
one more thing, goldies, whatever their size do need at least 10 gals as they do grow fast. im sure you'll be able to sell your plec to the lfs or on ebay or something. please dont kill it!

Sigh, how big is the plec? Where are you locatated? I will glady take him off your hands unless it costs me an arm and a leg to ship and if the plec isnt to small to be hurt by my cichlid (i am in the market for a plec for his tank). Post back and ill give you my email so we can talk details if you wish.

As for your question, if they are on the list they are compatible, if they arent on the list them they arent compatible and they really shouldnt be kept with goldies. Sure there have been sucess stories, but the risk is much to great that some thing could happen, causing injury or death to the fish. Personally, if there was a risk my goldfish could be killed from either stress or becoming prey to a fish that isnt compatible, (or the other way round, the goldies could stress out and kill the uncompatible fish) I wouldnt take the chance of having it in the tank. Just my worth.

Also if you are getting a new tank, there wont be enough algea in it for an aglea eater or snail to survive with out all these supplements (supplements you should feed anyway) So if you want an algea eater to clean your tank, you kinda have to have some there for it to clean, id wait on the alge eater. Worry about your goldies first.

And as for what blinky said, yes it is possible, but unless you have the tank space, you shouldnt even attempt it. If you had a 60 gallon, then it would probably work, unless of course it didnt and your guppies became fast food.

If $$ is an issue, as it perpetually is for me, I think the biggest question is: does it have to be a pretty setup? I mean, does it really matter that (1) you can see the fish from the side, and (2) what guests/family will think of the apperance? I have 2 big tubs from nnnnnn, they were about $5-10 each, and they make GREAT setups for cheap. Get the rubbermaid or sterilite ones (I prefer sterilite), they are safe with water. They are not pretty, but I had to set up a 18 gallone one real fast once to deal with a male sailfin pleco (he wasn't a common, but similar I guess) that went berzerk at sexual maturity and started beating my snails to death.

I'm sure I'm going to get blasted by everyone for saying this, but I'm going to say it anyway lol...I did keep that big fat 11" sailfin pleco in with my goldfish until the pleco finally slowed down and died of old age. He may have been the terror of filters and any other object he thought he could rip apart and beat to death, but he was the most careful, peaceful, and respectful fish towards other non-catfish fishies that I have ever had. I respect other folk's advice here and don't have plans of putting another pleco in with my goldie, but I did have a harmonious combination with those 2 fish. It depends on the individual fish I guess. At any rate, if you get desperate and don't want to give the pleco away...consider the cheapo tub option. You can setup a home made UGF and everything and have the whole setup come to under $50 easily, I had it for under $30.




Don't get a snail for algae...the non-pest ones don't eat algae, they don't have mouth parts designed for it. It's pretty common petstore misconception that apples and other types of big-ish snails eat algae. I vote for dwarf otocinclus cats and rubbernose/rubberlip plecos.

going back to what meg said, i do have them in a 65 gal tank. i wouldnt recomend it in anything much smaller and there are plenty of hiding places should he need them. i wouldnt recommend putting guppies in with goldies anyway unless you really know what youre doing.... not that im plugging myself or anything! hope everything goes well in rehoming the pleco.

Somehow a virus or something must have altered my post, because, I did not say I wanted to have the pleco euthanized, I repeat, I did not say I wanted to have the pleco euthanized. Actually, Meg, where are you located, I'm not really allowed to even give out the name of the state I'm in?

That's what you said.

You do realize that the majority of fish on Koko's compatible fish page are tropical?

This question gets asked time and time and time again, and time and time and time again the wrong information gets posted. The number one response people give is "Guppies are tropical, goldfish aren't." However, most all fancy goldfish (save perhaps for commons) do best in a tank heated in the mid 70's, which is perfectly fine for guppies. So temperature (the number one quoted "incompatiblity") is not the issue.

The number one issue is IMHO that guppies are very fast skittish fish, while goldfish are very slow and lumbering. Unless the guppies are sick, the goldfish will be way too slow to catch them. It's the other way around... the guppies may harass the goldfish and nip at their fins.

I said OTHER han euthanizing it, if you knew how to read past the level of a 2-year old, you would know that, NO offense, Erika!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :angry: :angry: :angry:

No offense??? That depends.....was that comment directed towards me?

holy cripes guy. its whut you said, wether you ment to or not it was implyed that it would be euthenized if no other resource was found. Calm Toi!

I am in Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada. Id pay for shipping, depending on how big this guy is. Email me with details about the plec, how big it is, ect and if your within shipping range. Shipping isnt that expensive if your above the mason dixon line (or whutever its called) and bonus if your in the east!

I'm in massachusetts, and the pleco is about 6 inches. Oh, and sorry erika, I just got frustrated. And by saying othr than having it euthanized, I meant except for euthanizing it, which means I did not want to euthanize it.

I gave a large pleco to a company that installs and maintains aquariums in commercial settings, such as doctor's offices, hospitals, office buildings, etc. Often these tanks are huge and they use large fish and large plecos. They were happy to get mine

So, perhaps if you looked in the yellow pages of your telephone book, you might find a company like that.

Worth a try

thin ice, einstein. very thin ice. i think people were getting worked up about the fact that euthenasia is one of your options, even if it is not your first.
pelvis, well done for that info. i have a few tropicals in with my goldies as despite being 'coldwater' fish, research has been done to show they actually prefur it at about 76f, an ideal temperature for tropical fish, so most breeds can be mixed as long as the chance for bullying is small, and guppies are way faster than goldies when they want to be!

Meg, I found out just this weekend that the pleco is a gold striped pleco, Ididn't notice the goldish color of the scales before, are gold striped plecos compatible?

Hi guys just a friendly reminder to remember that we need to remain calm and not aggravate the passion of our love for this hobby.

I am pleased to see that while for a minute this thread was headed in a bad direction it has seemed to turn so keep up the good work and carry on your discussion.

I have no idea what shipping would be from there, but i dont think it would be much. I dont know if gold stripes are compatible, start a new thread and ask. If you want to get rid of him then i will take him. If he is of good size and weight and can hold his own then he will be great in the new 50g tank with Blue.