If you’re considering keeping guppies and bettas in the same tank, some of the main concerns are the tank size and their diet. Do they eat the same foods? Which foods should you avoid? Can guppies eat betta food and vice-versa?
Guppies are omnivorous and can feed on both plants and meat. They feed on algae, insect larvae, plankton, invertebrates, and plant matter in the wild. On the other hand, Betta fish feed on meat-based food, including insects, insect larvae, invertebrates, and small fish.
Guppies can eat betta food because it’s meat-based. However, betta food alone is unhealthy for the guppies as they need an omnivorous diet (meat and plants). Both fish eat live, frozen, commercial, and homemade foods. Provide enough food since bettas are aggressive and could starve the guppies.
What food can you feed both bettas and guppies?
If you keep bettas and guppies together, it is important to understand their dietary needs. Bettas are carnivorous and will feed on meaty meals you provide, while guppies are omnivorous and will feed on a meat and plant diet.
Therefore, guppies can eat betta food, but it will not fulfill their dietary requirements.
Guppies are greedy and can beat bettas in reaching and eating food. They can even eat smaller guppies. This can stress the guppies; you can see it when they turn white or lose color. When feeding them together, provide enough food for the guppies since they could starve.
Some food you can feed bettas and guppies include live and frozen brine shrimps, mosquito larvae, blood worms, wingless fruit flies, fish flakes, and betta fish pellets. Add some plant-based foods to balance the bettas’ diet.
Ideally, start with the plants before the meats to give the guppies a headstart in feeding. This also helps them when they have other aggressive tank mates like loaches.
What is the ideal diet for guppies?
Guppies are gluttonous and can be easily overfed. They will eat anything they are offered, whether meat or vegetables. Therefore, ensure they eat a healthy meal by providing various foods.
Adult guppies should be fed twice daily, while fries should be fed about 5 times in small portions. Below are the types of food that you can feed your guppies.
1. Live food
Guppies can feed on blood worms, brine shrimps, mosquito larvae, micro worms, and daphnia.
2. Commercial guppy food
Commercial food is the best choice for most aquarists since they do not have the time to prepare other types of food. It also contains the nutrition and vitamins needed by guppies. You can be sure that you are feeding them a healthy meal.
Many companies produce quality guppy food; you just need to walk to a pet store and buy your preferred brand. Commercial food options available include:
- Veggie pallets
- Spirulina tablets
- Flake food
- Freeze-dried brine shrimp.
- Freeze-dried blood worms.
- Freeze-dried tubifex worms
3. Homemade guppy food
If you have time, you can prepare your guppy food yourself. The food you can prepare at home includes brine shrimp, boiled egg yolk, beef heart, and daphnia.
You can also feed the guppies with frozen or fresh vegetables such as cucumber, zucchini, spinach, carrots, peas, green beans, corn, broccoli, potato, cabbage, and makes.
Here is how you prepare vegetables for guppies.
- Cucumber/ zucchini/ tomatoes: Remove the jelly part and seeds. Cut them into small pieces and put them in the tank.
- Peas/corn: Boil them until soft, then remove the outer skin. Peas and corn are rich in fiber. Peas are good for a guppy with indigestion problems. It also eases constipation and bloating problems.
- Lettuce/kale/spinach: You can feed them to the guppies either raw or blanched. When blanching, boil for 5 minutes, then cut them into small pieces and drop them in the tank.
- Green beans/ potato/carrots/ sweet potato: Boil them for 10 minutes, and then cut them into small pieces.
Always wash the vegetables thoroughly to remove any fertilizer or pesticide residue because it will affect the water’s PH and the fish’s health.
Feeding guppies betta food means you are only feeding them fats and protein and missing out on vitamins and minerals that are equally important. This is where you should also give the guppy vegetables like cucumber, zucchini, carrots, and spinach.
What is the ideal diet for betta fish?
Betta fish are carnivorous and require a well-balanced diet rich in protein. You can feed them live food or buy betta food at the pet store.
The live/frozen food you can feed betta fish includes:
- Mosquito larvae
- Brine shrimp
- Blood worms
- Wingless fruit flies
- Mysis shrimp.
There are many options for commercial betta food, including betta fish pellets, freeze-dried betta food, and betta fish flakes.
Don’t feed your fish only one type of food to ensure it gets all the required nutrients. Also, for commercial food, ensure to check the expiry date.
Conclusion
Guppies are omnivorous and can eat both meat and plant-based food. Bettas are carnivorous and eat meat only. While keeping guppies and betta fish in the same tank, you can feed them a meaty meal, such as blood worms, brine shrimps, betta pellets, and flakes.
Although guppies will still eat the above food, it is not ideal and should be supplemented with a plant-based meal. Guppies will also eat algae, cucumber, zucchini, spinach, carrots, and tomatoes.
