Are beta fish and guppies safe to keep together in one tank?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Usually it is best to avoid this as Bettas tend to be territorial and aggressive and are generally unhappy when grouped. It is always best to keep them by themselves. Good luck and have a great day!

If the Betta is not acting aggresively, there is no need to remove him. Guppies, especially males, will fight with one another but it usually isn't serious. Providing plenty of cover for them to hide may be all you need. If the fighting persists, remove the aggressive guppy to his own tank.

Typically beta fish are very territorial and have to be in a tank alone. Otherwise they will fight and possibly kill each other. I would recommend housing the beta alone to help prevent this. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Betta are definitively very territorial and you may notice multiple fights for space at the beginning. Definitively the aquarium must have multiple spots for hiding like Terra Cotta Flowerpots and PVC Piping, moss or bushy plants, ornaments, rocks and driftwoods. This will avoid open fights and will provide good places to have some rest.

You will need to use a solid or opaque divider to obstruct their view of one another. If they can see each other, it can stress them out. As the male matures, he will want to breed with the female and she will spend time swimming as far from the divider as possible to move away from him.

Unfortunately, aggression between species of fish is not uncommon. I am not sure if this is a new finding, or if anything has changed in the dynamic in your school of fish (any new introductions or any deaths of fish), but this often can then change how the rest of the fish interact with one another. You can try to give the platy places to hide and escape from the guppy, or you can end up dividing the tank. If you do not want to add dividers, you can also separate the guppy into another tank as well. I hope that gives you a place to start, and good luck!

Platys and guppies are usually both pretty docile, but sometimes it is the behavior of the individual Fish. Make sure there are plants for hiding and I would give it a try. Thank you for using Pet Coach.