Can Guppies Eat Goldfish Food?

guppies goldfish food

Yes! Guppies will eat goldfish food. But it’s not recommended that you feed guppies goldfish food for a long period of time. Goldfish flakes and food are designed for goldfish – not guppies. These flakes do not have the nutritional content necessary for guppies to live a healthy life.

Why Goldfish Food is Bad for Guppies

Goldfish food is bad for guppies for two reasons:

  • Lower protein.
  • Missing key vitamins and minerals.
  • Pellets.

The first problem with feeding guppies goldfish food is that it does not meet the protein needs of guppies. Guppies that do not eat enough protein and fat (ie. from goldfish food) will be lethargic. In other words, they will not swim around nearly as much, which almost defeats the purpose of having pet guppies!

Also, the lack of protein in their diet can decrease their lifespan. You want your guppies to live a long, fruitful life in their aquarium, so don’t feed them goldfish food.

The next problem with feeding guppies goldfish food is that goldfish food lacks key vitamins and minerals. This should be obvious because guppies have different nutritional demands than goldfish.

Guppies that lack vitamins and minerals will have some slight discoloration and physical defects if they do not receive the proper nutrition from a young age.

Again, you purchase fancy guppies for their stunning colors and flowy tails, so discoloration and deformation are not something you want to see in them.

The final problem with feeding guppies goldfish food is that it comes in pellets. These pellets work fine for goldfish because they have large mouths that allow them to easily swallow a large pellet.

goldfish big mouth

Guppies, on the other hand, do not have large mouths. They cannot swallow the pellets, so the pellets have a tendency to drop to the bottom and dissolve in the tank. This can throw off the pH in the tank, make it dirty, and even allow the growth of bacteria.

That’s also why guppy food is almost never available in pellet form – pellets are too difficult for guppies to eat.

Note: Don’t feed your guppies bread – it’s bad for them.

Goldfish Food is Sometimes OK for Guppies

So, we already covered that goldfish food is not good for guppies. But that does not mean you can never, ever feed goldfish food to your guppies.

It’s fine to feed them goldfish food on occasion or if you run out of their normal food. Though there are better homemade options such as dried vegetables or insects.

Even better, if your guppies have a diet strong in protein and the necessary vitamins and minerals, then you can feed them goldfish food more often.

We like to keep things simple, though. Just avoid it whenever possible.

Summary

That covers it for whether guppies can eat goldfish food. Guppies eat everything, which means that guppies can eat goldfish food. However, it’s generally ill-advised to feed guppies goldfish food because it does not have enough protein, vitamins, minerals, and it’s usually only available in pellets that guppies cannot swallow.

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