Guppies are without a doubt one of the most popular freshwater fish species amongst fishkeepers and due to guppies naturally living in brackish water, more and more fish keepers are acclimatising their guppies to saltwater tanks too.
This leads to a number of people reaching out and asking what eats guppies each month as they either look for suitable tank mates for their guppies or for a fish to manage the guppy population.
Due to seeing so many people reaching out each month, we have decided to publish this dedicated article going over some of the more common tank mates requests that we see people asking about for their guppies.
Our hope is that we will be able to help our readers better identify the right tank mate for their needs be it as a peaceful tank mate for your guppies or as a way to control their population in your tank.
As we will be covering a number of different potential tank mates, we have decided to add a table of contents below. This should make it as quick and easy as possible to skip directly to sections of the article that you would like to know more about.
What Eats Guppies?
Due to their small size and bright color, there really are a large number of fish that will eat guppies.
Their small size makes the easy prey for most medium and large fish while their color ensures that they stick out against most types of cover making it difficult for them to hide too.
As we covered in our article on guppies living alone, the smaller the number of guppies you keep, the lower their chances of survival due to not being able to school in large numbers.
This means that keeping smaller numbers of guppies can make it much easier for larger fish to eat them.
That said, some fish species simply won’t care if your guppies are in a large group or not and will still see them as a potential food source.
This is why it is usually recommended that you choose your guppy tank mates very carefully if you are looking to keep your guppies for the longterm.
Do Goldfish Eat Guppies?
Most types of goldfish species will happily eat guppies given the chance but some of the smaller goldfish species will leave the guppies alone due to only growing to a similar size of the guppies.
Due to all goldfish species being part of the carp family, they will usually try to eat anything that they are able to fit into their mouth whether you intend it to be a part of their food supply or not.
Do Betta Fish Eat Guppies?
Betta fish have smaller mouths and although they will eat a large amount of guppy fry, they are not able to eat a fully grown, adult guppy.
That said, betta fish and guppies still don’t usually make good tank mates due to the betta fish often nipping at the tails of the guppies constantly, especially if you keep a male betta fish.
Do Cichlids Eat Guppies?
The majority of adult cichlid species will eat guppies with some actively hunting any guppies in their tank but guppies are usually too low in fat to be a good food source for a cichlid and this can result in nutritional deficiencies in your cichlid.
Most dwarf cichlids will happily live with guppies without issue but even some of the more aggressive dwarf cichlid species will hunt and eat guppies.
Do Oscars Eat Guppies?
Most species of oscar will eat guppies as well as anything else that they are able to fit into their mouth.
Due to the low-fat stores of a guppy, they tend to make for a poor food source for oscars and the oscars will often become lethargic due to a lack of energy unless their diet is supplemented with other, more suitable food sources.
Do Angelfish Eat Guppies?
Adult and juvenile angelfish will eat any guppies that they find in their tank with some species of angelfish actually hunting the guppies down as a food source.
Baby angelfish will usually not pay guppies much attention due to the guppies being too large to fit in their mouth but once they become juveniles they will start to see guppies as a food source.
Do Mollies Eat Guppies?
Mollies tend not to eat adult guppies due to it being difficult for them to get the guppies in their mouth but mollies will eat guppy fry.
If you are looking for a fish to control the guppy population in your tank then a mollies can be a good option as they will eat guppie eggs and guppy fry.
Some mollies will nip at the fits and tails of your guppies depending on the size of your tank though so you have to factor that in too.
Do Koi Eat Guppies?
Koi usually see anything that can fit in their mouth as a potential food source and even baby koi are able to fit guppies in their mouth.
Adult koi will eat huge numbers of guppies if they get the chance due to needing such a large amount of food each day to support their huge size.
Do Gouramis Eat Guppies?
Gouramis seem indifferent to eating adult guppies with some eating guppies and others not paying them any attention.
The majority of gouramis will happily eat guppy fry though and be able to help you manage the population of the guppies in your tank before they grow too large for them to eat.
Do Plecos Eat Guppies?
Most species of plecos will not eat guppies with the general recommendation for an algae eater tank mate for a guppy being a bristlenose pleco or a rubber lip pleco as they will just ignore your guppie and go about their business.
Some of the larger pleco species like the common pleco may end up eating your guppies though.
Do Frogs Eat Guppies?
Some species of frogs will eat your guppies but most of them won’t and some people do keep frogs such as the African Dwarf frog in tanks with guppies without issue.
You have to keep in mind that when it comes to amphibians, the personality of the frog will also come into play as most frogs are full-blown carnivores and although the majority of their species may not eat guppies, some may still take a liking to them.
Do Turtles Eat Guppies?
Larger turtles will usually eat any guppies in their tank that they are able to catch but some species of turtle will pay the guppies no attention at all.
There are some species of turtle that are totally indifferent to guppies too so specifically looking for information with the type of turtle that you have and their behaviour around guppies is probably the best thing to do.
The Best Fish To Control The Guppy Population!
The best fish to control the guppy population is probably the trusty goldfish as they will eat a huge number of guppies once they get large enough.
Goldfish are also cheap, easy to care for, and tend to be much easier to find in pet stores than some of the other fish that will happily eat guppies too.
What Fish Eat Guppy Fry?
Smaller fish like mollies tend to be the best options for eating guppy fry but guppies will often eat their own fry anyway so they do have some form of population control built into them.
Usually though, a couple of mollies depending on the size of your tank are able to eat most of the guppy fry to prevent overpopulation.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over what eats guppies to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you either avoid a potentially disastrous tank mate for your guppies or to find something suitable for guppy population control in your tank. There are plenty of options available for both paths though so you should easily be able to find what you need.
