Glofish and goldfish are two of the most popular species of pet fish, especially for beginners. Since they are both readily available at most pet stores, people often wonder if they can live together. While the answer is a bit complicated, I will explain everything you need to know about whether glofish and goldfish can live together.
Can glofish and goldfish live together?
Yes, glofish and goldfish can live together. I have kept them together for almost a year. However, there are a lot of strings attached.
First I will start out with all of the reasons why glofish and goldfish make good tankmates, and then I will reviews some reasons why they aren’t.
Personality
Both glofish and goldfish have friendly personalities. They are not aggressive, and I have never witnessed them trying to bite each other’s tails. I’ve only noticed my glofish occasionally try to bite each others fins and chasing each other around.
They are also both curious species that love to swim. This makes them fun to observe when they swim around the tank.
That being said
Colors
Both goldfish and glofish have bright, vibrant colors. They really make your tank feel alive. While goldfish can’t glow in the dark under an LED light, they still offer a nice aesthetic. If you are interested in another colorful fish, glofish can also live with guppies.
Food
Luckily, glofish can eat goldfish food. They can both eat certain types of pellets and flakes. Just make sure that the pellets are not so big that they can’t fit in your glofish’s mouth.
Now that we’ve discussed some of the reasons why glofish and goldfish can be tankmates, let’s discuss some of the reasons why it might not be ideal.
Temperature
The number one reason why glofish and goldfish might not be compatible is because of their temperature requirements. When a fish is living in an aquarium that is outside of their comfortable temperature range, it can cause a lot of stress, and eventually lead to death.
Most species of goldfish require a water temperature between 67 and 74 degrees fahrenheight. Some species of goldfish such as comets and shubunkins have an even colder temperature range of 60 to 70 degrees fahrenheight.
On the flip side, most species of glofish require temperatures between 75 and 80 degrees fahrenheight. Therefore, they don’t have any overlap when it comes to temperature range.
However, I have been able to keep my tank at 76 degrees, and both my glofish and goldfish are happy and healthy. Sometimes the part of the aquarium that is furthest away from the heater dips down to 74-75 degrees fahrenheight.
If you do plan to keep glofish and goldfish together, I suggest you try a similar strategy of keeping the water between 75 and 77 degrees fahrenheight. I strongly recommend checking the temperature every day for the first week or so to make sure you have the right target temperature.
On the bright side, goldish do have similar requirements as the required pH level for glofish.
Size
While it does depend on the species, goldfish typically get much larger than glofish. Some goldfish can grow up to 10 inches. This means that goldfish require larger tanks to give them enough room to swim around. If a goldfish is kept in a small tank, it will stress them out and lead to other health defects.
On the other side, glofish usually don’t grow past three inches. This allows them to be able to be kept in much smaller tanks compared to goldfish.
Therefore, if you plan on keeping goldfish and glofish together, you should keep them in a tank that is at least 40 gallons to ensure that the goldfish will have enough space to swim around when it gets bigger.
Eating habits
Since goldfish are bigger in size, they require more food than glofish. As mentioned earlier, they can share they same type of food, but the goldfish will need to eat most of it.
One of the problems I run into when I feed my fish is that the goldfish typically hogs all of the food. The second I sprinkle the flakes into the tank, the goldfish swims and starts chomping down on all the food. Sometimes it is hard for the glofish to get food because the goldfish eats most of it so fast.
I get around this by feeding them simultaneously in different sides of the tank to make sure the glofish are able to get enough food.
Tips for keeping glofish and goldfish together.
If you plan to keep your goldfish and glofish together, there are a couple other things you should keep in mind.
Filter
Since goldfish produce a lot of waste, it is very important that you invest in a strong filter that can keep your water clean. If you have an undersized filter, it can lead to dangerous water conditions for your fish.
Start with only a few
If you plan to keep glofish and goldfish together, don’t go out and buy a bunch and throw them all together. It’s important to start slow to make sure you have the proper conditions for both species. I recommend starting with around two goldfish and five glofish to start. If they are healthy after a month or so, you can consider buying more.
Closely monitor
It is important to closely monitor your fish when you put them together. Keep an eye out for any strange behavior such as swimming sideways or lack of appetite.
If you notice your fish acting weird, you should separate them into different tanks.
