Guppies and GloFish Tetras?

[Danio8]

I have a 20 gallon high with 7 Danios (6 Zebra, 1 GloFish) and 2 GloFish tetras. My tank is fully cycled and I was think about getting 4 guppies. Will the tetras nip at the guppie’s fins? I really like guppies but I wouldn’t want to put them in a tank where they would die. Any opinions?

 

[Aiken Drum]

You can rarely say these fish are safe with these other fish. Its really down to the temperament of the individual fish. It might work ok, it might not.

Glofish tetras are GM black skirt tetras, and these fish are considered to be fin nippers. But if they are kept in a suitable sized group they are more likely to keep their aggression within the group rather than looking to take it out on another species.

So keeping guppies in this tank with 2 tetras is more risky than keeping them with say 6 tetras. But you may have 2 very calm individuals and would be fine, whereas if you added some more tetras and then added guppies, it could be that one of the extra tetras is just a jerk and it will go for anything. No one can really say what will happen and the only way to know is to try it.

Personally i would increase the number of tetras anyway, they will be happier in a bigger group. And then if you wanted to add a few guppies go from there. But its a risk. Many people keep these fish together with no problems, if you ask around you will find people that found they didn't live well together in their particular tank.

 

[Danio8]

I just asked my friend the temperament of the tetras. She had them for a couple months and was keeping them in a 3 gallon with the GloFish danio. I am awaiting her response.

Also, how many more fish do you think I could fit in my tank? I have checked aqadvisor and with the 7 danios and 2 tetras, my tank I saw about 64% stocked. Should I just get a could more tetras and bag the guppy idea?

 

[Aiken Drum]

You cant judge the temperament of tetras based on how they lived for a couple of months in a tiny tank not suitable for them. They probably werent kept in a suitable sized school and if they were they will have been incredibly cramped. They will have been stressed, and this stress would have likely manifested in ways that properly kept fish wouldnt exhibit.

A 3g tank isnt suitable to keep any fish in really. A betta at a push. Certainly not tetras and danios.

I would say your tank could support 7 danios, 6 or 7 black skirt tetras and 4 guppies if thats what you choose to keep.