Are Neon Tetras and Guppies Compatible?

I know that you are a fish hobbyist and love to pet fish from different species. But the problem is that you are not sure if the fish you chose are compatible beings or not. Neon Tetras and Guppies are the most popular fish species in the world. And we will be looking into their compatibility profile in this article.

Some fish species in the fish world are best if kept in community tanks, while some are not. It solely depends upon the nature of the fish, the food they eat, and the water parameter that they thrive in. In the past, I too used to wonder whether Neon Tetras and Guppy fish are compatible beings or not. And if both of the fish could stay together in an aquarium. So, I did some research based on that, and guess what I found?

Are Neon Tetra and Guppy Compatible Beings?

Yes, Neon tetra and Guppy are compatible beings. Both of the fish can live together. It is possible due to the various similarities between the two fish. Both Guppy fish And Neon Tetra belong to the tropical freshwaters of South America(Amazon). These fish are well known for having peaceful temperaments, friendly nature, and beautiful patterns.

Not only that, but both of the fish are also shoaling fish. It means that they love to live in schools and swim together in a group. Well, the similarities do not end here. Neon Tetra and Guppy also share the same dietary balance as well as the same water conditions.

You now know that both Neon Tetra and Guppy are compatible and are best if kept together. So, aren’t you curious to know more about these fish? Well then, stick till the end to know more.

The behavior of Neon Tetra and Guppy

Usually, any fish species will only get comfortable with fish of the same kind. But there are some of the other fish species also share similar characteristics. So, the fish will not find it hard to adjust to one another.

Neon Tetra and Guppy share various similar characteristics, so these fish can live with each other. As mentioned earlier, Neon Tetra and Guppy are peaceful beings. That is the reason why even a beginner can pet these fish very easily. Both are community fish, so they love to stay in schools rather than staying alone. Swimming in a group means that these fish are protecting each other just like they used to when living in the wild.

More about the Neon Tetra and Guppy

When you see the fish swimming together in a group, you will see the contrast of their beautiful color and patterns. In return, it will add more glory and vibrancy to your aquarium. Furthermore, these fish are not surface feeders. So, you will see them swimming at the lower or the middle levels in the aquarium.

Besides, both Neon Tetra and Guppy are active swimmers. So, they need adequate space to swim around. You will see the males chasing the females most of the time as they try to impress the females, especially during a mating season. However, if you find the fish hiding most of the time, understand that your fish are either stressed or sick.

Growth of both Neon Tetra and Guppy

The maximum growth of Neon Tetra is 3.5 centimeters (i.e., about 1.378 inches). On the other hand, Guppy grows up to 1.5 -2 inches. Some Guppies grow bigger (i.e., 3-3.5 inches).

Even though Guppies are comparatively larger to the Neon Tetras, these fish are compatible with each other. It is because both of the fish have peaceful and non-aggressive temperaments.

But it does not mean that you must put too many of the fishes together. It will cause your fish to be stressed, which might even lead to bullying and harassing each other. Keep just enough of both the fish to maintain the balance.

Tank Conditions for Neon Tetra and Guppy

As tropical freshwater fish, both Neon Tetra and Guppy would want the tank conditions to be similar to their natural habitat. You must be careful while you set up the tank for the Neon Tetra and Guppy because these fish are sensitive to water changes. You must make sure that the fish will be fully comfortable to swim around in the tank.

Water Parameters

Neon Tetra and Guppy are sensitive beings, so you must pay extra attention to providing the appropriate water parameters to your fish.

As both Neon Tetra and Guppy are tropical freshwater fish, these fish prefer slightly warm water as similar to their natural habitat.

The water temperature in your aquarium must always be between 75-82 degrees Fahrenheit. The best PH level for both Neon Tetra and Guppy is 7.0 or 7.2. However, these fish can adjust to the PH level ranging between 5.5-8.5. Remember, not to be too harsh with your pet fish, though. Vast differences can be fatal to your fish.

Regular maintenance of the water conditions

Providing the right water parameters isn’t always enough. You need to maintain it daily. So, I recommend you put a water thermometer and heater to check and balance the water temperature in your aquarium.

Filtration System

Besides, maintaining the water temperature, proper filtration of the tank is equally important as well. Maintaining water conditions might be a little tough job to do, but every living being on earth has equal rights for having clean and healthy water.

Just like you easily get sick when you consume contaminated water, the same is the case with your Neon Tetra and Guppy as well. You can easily buy the pieces of filtration equipment in the fish store near you or the department stores.

You must ensure that your fish will always be comfortable in the aquarium to prevent your fish from stressing out. If your fish stresses out, there are chances of further health complications, which might even lead to the untimely death of your fish.

Decoration and Substrates

The tank must match a little with the natural habitat of both the Neon Tetra and Guppy back in Amazon river basins. So, make sure you put enough plantations and substrates inside the tank. Those things will provide a homely environment for the fish.

Even though both the fish are peaceful and will stay with one another, these fish prefer an aquarium with lots of places to hide. It’s best if you add more floating plants and lots of hiding places to make the tank dense, and dark just like their natural habitat.

Mainly the bottom of the tank should be dark for the fish to rest peacefully. The darker background will help you to see the shine of the beautiful patterns of both the Neon Tetra and Guppy fish when they swim. But remember not to make the tank extremely dark. It will not only scare the fish but will also disable you to see your fish, so the adequate lighting system is equally important as well.

Knowing the other compatible tank mates for both Neon Tetra and Guppy

As peaceful beings, both Neon Tetra and Guppy won’t mind sharing the tank with other peaceful fish of other species as well. All they require is adequate space to swim around freely, and without any disturbance from the other fish.

Avoid aggressive and other larger fish species such as Aggressive Tetras, Barbs, Bettas, Red-tailed sharks, etc. as the tank mates for both Neon Tetra and Guppy. Your smaller fish will be scared of the larger fish.

Not only that, but smaller fish will also fall into the prey of the larger fish. Besides, larger fish will try to harass or even kill the smaller fish. So, you need to be extra careful while choosing the best tankmates for your Neon Tetra and Guppy as you need to prevent them from getting stressed and sick.

What are the best tankmates for both Neon Tetras and Guppies?

Some of the best tankmates for Neon Tetra and Guppy are Mollies, Dwarf Gouramis, Small catfish(Corydoras), Platies, Swordtails, Ender’s livebearers, etc. The main thing to consider while choosing the ideal tankmates is the natural behavior of the fish and their appearance.

One important thing that you must remember is to keep the males or females in the ratio 2:1 to balance the fish altogether.

Not only fish-aquatic fish but some other non-fish aquatic animals such as African Dwarf frogs and Ghost Shrimp also share similar characteristics of non-aggressiveness with both Neon Tetra and Guppy. So, you might as well house them together.

Can you keep Neon Tetra and Guppy in a 10-gallon tank?

Talking about providing the best suitable space, do you know how much does your fish require? A 10-gallon tank is the best suitable option for housing the Neon Tetra and Guppy. It is the ideal size for the fish keeper to pet the desired fish species.

But do you know how many of the fish can you keep in 10 gallons of water? Let’s find out.

How many Neon Tetra and Guppy can you keep in 10 gallons of water?

As we talked about the growth of both the fish, let’s assume Neon Tetra and Guppy to be of 2 inches and 1 inch, respectively. So, both the respective fish require 2 gallons and 1 gallon of water.

Just make sure you do not keep more than 5-6 fish in 10 gallons of water.

This rough calculation will make it easier to decide how many of these fish do you want to keep together.

Also Read: Can Neon Tetras and Bettas Live In A 10-Gallon Aquarium?

What to do if you are adding more fish to your aquarium?

Now, you know about the adequate tank size and the number of fishes you need to pet. However, if you want to add more number of fishes to your aquarium, make sure you add a couple of gallons of water.

Remember that an inch of fish requires one-gallon of water. You can calculate by yourself how many of Neon Tetra and Guppy do you want to keep?

Well, I will try to make it easier for you. If you set up a 10 gallons tank in your home, just add about 5-6 of the fish. But if you desire to set up a 20 gallons tank instead, add up to 10-15 fish. Do not exceed the number of fish if you do not intend to add more water to your aquarium because you do not want your fish to be uncomfortable, isn’t it?

Recommended Article: How Many Neon Tetras in a 10-gallon tank

Dietary conditions of the Neon Tetra and Guppy

One of the similarities between the Neon Tetra and Guppy is that both of the fish are Omnivores. Both Neon Tetra and Guppy have the food habit of eating both vegetations as animal matters just because these fish originally belonged from the Amazon basins. Both Neon Tetra and Guppy are compatible beings as their diet are the same. So, it is easy for you to feed Neon Tetra and Guppy as they both are fussy eaters. It means these fish will eat whatever food you feed them.

It doesn’t mean that you should be careless, though. The main diet of both of the fish is fish flakes, daphnia, brine shrimp, small insects, crustaceans, bloodworms, small worms, etc.

What More Can You Feed Your Neon Tetra And Guppy?

You can also feed your fish with lettuce leaves, peas, cucumber, etc. Besides these, both of the fish love frozen food as well. You can buy frozen dried fish food from the fish store or the department store near you.

I keep repeating that both of your Neon Tetra and Guppy require a healthy balanced diet rich with proteins because both need to stay strong and healthy.

As both the Neon Tetra and Guppy are active swimmers, these fish shouldn’t lack a properly balanced diet. It’s because an unbalanced diet might weaken the immune system of your fish.

Avoid Overfeeding

Even though your fish might always seem to be hungry, you shouldn’t feed the Neon Tetra and Guppy more than twice a day. Just feed them enough to engage them for a minute or so. You might already know that overfeeding will make your fish uncomfortable, leading to several health problems. Furthermore, the uneaten food inside the aquarium will decay and will make the water dirty and unhealthy.

You must be extra careful with these little things. It is because even a small carelessness of yours might kill your fish too early.

Breeding Process

I have seen people who think and ask whether Neon Tetra and Guppy should cross-breed together. Well, the answer is obviously no. Because Neon Tetra and Guppy have similar characteristics and originally belong to the same place, these fish are from different species, orders, and families.

What do you need to ensure safe breeding?

It’s best if you separate the respective pair into a different tank as both the Neon Tetra and Guppy have different behaviors in case of breeding. Furthermore, you can also add a separate breeding box in the same community tank if you want to. It will enable the pair to feel a little safer and will let the fry to grow peacefully.

You might already know that the Neon Tetra are egg scatterers, and the male fertilizes the eggs later on. If not, you can check a separate article about the Neon Tetra and find it out by yourself. On the other hand, Guppies are livebearers. It means that the young ones don’t require fertilization as they get fertilized internally, and the females give birth to baby Guppies directly.

Will Neon Tetra Eat Guppy Fry?

You already know that Neon Tetras are comparatively bigger with the Guppies. First of all, the Guppy pair will not feel quite comfortable to mate in the community tank, itself. Secondly, even if the pair completes the mating process, insecurity and stress will take place.

I still emphasize to separate the breeding pair because there is a high risk for the Guppy fry to fall under the prey of adults from the Neon Tetra fish.

Also read: Tetra Fry Care – How to Care for Baby Tetras?

Conclusion

Now that we are at the end of this article, you very well know that Neon Tetra and Guppy are compatible with each other. These fish are non-aggressive and friendly. Not only that, but these fish have many other similarities as well, which makes it easier for them to pet.

Petting Neon Tetras and Guppies is possible by a beginner as well. Furthermore, both Neon Tetra and Guppy are beautiful and unique on their own. So, keeping these fish together will make your aquarium more attractive.

These fish doesn’t require a lot of effort, and you don’t even need to spend a lot of your time and money. So, don’t hesitate to keep both the fish together.