Keeping Guppies and Mollies Together – Yay or Nay

Guppy and Molly are the best choices for those who want a community tank with peaceful and colorful fish. Apart from that, some other similarities in them are: both are live-bearers, omnivorous, friendly and hardy.  Well, these are for the ease of the aquarists if they want to set a shiny community tank as beginners, but what about the comfort of the fish?

At present, more than 12 types of Guppies and Mollies are available, and you will need to know whether they are compatible with each other or not. This article is looking for this answer to guide you.

But before going on to that discussion, let’s have a brief discussion about them:

Guppy Fish

It is a 2” (5.08 cm) fish and an active swimmer, so you need a 20-gallon tank to allow its regular activities. Their beautiful tails with magnificent coloration will simply dazzle your aquarium. It is an omnivorous fish, and a combination of live foods and flakes will be ideal for this fish.

Water temperature has to be 75-82°F (23.88-27.77°C) with 7.0-7.8 pH, and 8-12 dGH water hardness is needed for them.

Guppies are live-bearers, so beware of keeping the same number of males and females. Either you can keep only male Guppies, or you will need to keep two females with one male to reduce the number of fries. 

Some most popular types of Guppy fish are Sunset Guppy, Snakeskin Guppy, Mosaic Guppy, Lace Guppy, Red Eye Guppy, Grass Guppy, Blue Green Bicolor Guppy, Albino Guppy, and so on.

Molly Fish

Slightly larger than Guppies, Mollies will also make your aquarium a masterpiece with yellow to a golden-orange shaded body and semitransparent to semitransparent fins and tails.

It is a shoaling fish, and you will need to follow the policy of keeping only males or keeping females and males in the ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 in a tank. They are also live-bearers like the Guppies low number of males will save you from the surprise birth of fries.

Mollies grow 4.5” (11.43 cm), and to provide a comfortable life, you need to keep it in a shoal o 3-4. You will need a 20-gallon tank for this. They are also active swimmers, and a planted aquarium with slow-moving water is their main preference.

Ideal water temperature for Mollies is 72-78° F (22-25° C), 6.7-8.5 pH, and hardness should be 20-30 dKH.

Mollies are also the omnivorous fish, which requires a diverse diet of plant matter with fleshy substances.

The most popular Mollies are Dalmatian Molly, Golden Lyretail Molly, Gold Dust Molly, Harlequin Sailfin Molly, Balloon Belly Molly, and so on.

Reasons to Keep Guppies and Mollies

The quick discussion shows that Guppies and Mollies not only share the same temperament and diet but also they have the same breeding technique and similar tank requirements. Even though their sizes differ, these similarities are the reason to set a community tank with them.

Now moving on to the different types, most of the variants of Guppies are compatibles with all types of Mollies, and they are friendly to each other. They don’t tend to harm their tank mates.

From territorial fights to damaging each other’s fins or tails are quite uncommon in Mollies or Guppies, which is another reason to keep them together.

Tips for Keeping Guppies and Mollies

So it’s always yay to set a community tank of these two. Here, a few tips are listed to help you in doing this.

Get a bigger tank

Once you have the mental preparation of making a community tank with Guppies and Mollies, it is more important to select the tank size than to select the species.

A 25-gallon tank or bigger is recommended for this purpose. Based on the size of your tank, you will have to determine the number of each species.

Replicating Natural Habitat in the Tank

As the parameters are almost similar for Guppies and Mollies, it will not be a big deal to set the tank correctly.

Aquatic plants like JavaMoss, Hornworts, and Amazon Frogbit are needed for them to keep them active and give them hiding places. These plants will also protect the fries from parent Mollies and Guppies, who generally eat their fries.

Filters and heaters are also needed though both are a bit hardy fish and bear a slight mismatch in the tank, which may affect their lifespan.

You will need to make water changes (10-15%) each week because of the sandy substrate. Also, water testing is mandatory to understand pH, nitrate and phosphate levels.

Both prefer brackish water, so a pinch of salt is required in the freshwater aquarium.

Feed Wisely

You may need some experts’ guidance regarding food quantity and frequency of feeding as both may seem hungry all the time, but they are not that hungry at all. It gives a hint to a possibility of overfeeding, and to skip this mistake, so you must ask experts.

In the case of overfeeding, the waste level will increase in the tank, which will pollute the water and cause decay in fish health and colors.

Food options are not a problem as they enjoy a combination of live foods like bloodworms, cooked foods with multi vegetables, and frozen foods.

Also, they are algae eaters and keep your aquarium base and wall clean by nibbling algae throughout the day, so overfeeding will be dangerous for them.

Control the Number of Males

Controlling the number of males will control the population of the tank, and that will actually be a healthy sign for the tank.

It does not matter how many Mollies or Guppies you are planning to get – the number of male Molly and Male Guppy cannot be more than one or two, and the number of females must be twice to thrice of males.

Remember, every 30 days, these species give birth to fry, so regulate the number of males first. If you want the fries, you may get a breeding box and place the females until she gives birth or put the fry in that breeding box.

When you are looking for a community tank, there will be no better and easier combination than Mollies and Guppies but try to keep the males only if you are a beginner. These two fish with their gleaming colors will mesmerize you, and you will have to behold them for hours. So, shake off your doubts even though you are a beginner and get ready for a pat on the back with these charming water buddies.