What Fish Are Good With Goldfish Tank Mates

If you are considering adding some additional fishy babies to your tank but are unsure whether they would be able to live together without harming each other, here are a few things to consider when choosing your fish’s new tank mates.

I would like to start by mentioning that if you have fancy goldfish like me, you have to know that they aren’t strong swimmers at all. At no time should you consider adding goldfish that have single tails to your tank. Due to the single tail, they are naturally stronger and faster swimmers, meaning when food becomes available, they will dominate and leave your fancy goldfish wondering where the food went.

Unfortunately, I have Barry (the offspring of my Black Moor and Fantail) in my tank. He came out with a single tail; luckily, he is still small. When feeding, I make sure to add food to two or three locations to ensure everyone gets their share.

Make sure to monitor the fishy behaviors when adding any new fish to your tank. It is also a very wise decision to quarantine new fish before adding them to your community tank to ensure you aren’t adding or spreading any diseases or parasites.

Water Requirements

The fish you are considering should have the same or similar water requirements (temperature and pH ranges) as your existing fish. You won’t be able to add fish that require a heater (warmer water) to your goldfish tank as your goldfish would suffer or vice versa with colder water.

Size Of Fish

Size matters when adding fish to your goldfish community tank. As mentioned before, anything—and I mean anything—that can fit inside the mouth of your goldfish will most likely become a snack.

You can’t add very small fish, and if they are small, they should be faster than your goldfish. You just don’t want the other fish to be on edge and stressed trying to get away from your goldfish. It is best to choose a larger type of fish that won’t become breakfast and that won’t harm your goldfish or their flowy fins and tails.

Temperament Of Fish

Goldfish and Fancy goldfish are known to be peaceful creatures that aren’t aggressive (maybe a little when it comes to food or spawning). So it is best to choose fish that aren’t aggressive, territorial, or faster swimmers than your current goldfish.

Possible Tank Mate Options

White Cloud Mountain Minnows are a great option if you are looking at adding a schooling fish with your Fancy Goldfish, the reason I mention Fancy Goldfish is because the Minnows are smaller fish and could possibly fit into your goldfish mouth, but they are fast swimmers and would easily escape the slow swimming Fancy Goldfish.

White Cloud Mountain Minnows look similar to Neon Tetras and do well in a school of 6 – 10. I suggest you grow your Minnows out before adding them to your tank, as smaller or younger Minnows might be at an increased risk of becoming a meal.

Minnows are peaceful fishies with similar water requirements to goldfish. They would add a lovely color aesthetic and activity to your existing Goldfish tank.

Giant Danios are a great option as tank mates for your goldfish as they add beautiful colors to your tank, are large enough not to become food, and are peaceful with the same water requirements as your goldfish. These fish are the schooling type and you would need about 6 of them for a happy team in your tank.

I would suggest you have a larger fish tank when considering this option as some people have found this type of fish to be aggressive and might be something to consider before adding them to a Fancy Goldfish tank.

Platy fish are also a great option for adding more color and life to your goldfish tank. Make sure to add a lot of plants and hiding spots for the Platy fish, as they are livebearers that don’t lay eggs. They are fast swimmers and will easily coexist with your goldfish.

Other goldfish species with the same type of tail and larger aquarium snails, such as apple snails or mystery snails, are the best tank mates for goldfish.

Debatable Tank Mate Options

Rosy Barbs are said to be peaceful fish that would do well with Goldfish. Yes, there are other Barb species, like the Tiger Barb, that are aggressive and would nip the fins of your Goldfish. I just feel that Rosy Barbs would share that same potential trait and cause unnecessary stress to your Goldfish.

Some people have larger tanks with their goldfish and Rosy Barbs living in peaceful fishy waters, while others have experienced damage to their Goldfish fins, and in some cases, the damage was so bad that their goldfish babies didn’t survive.

Another debatable tank mate is Weather or Dojo Loaches. Most people would say it is perfectly fine to add these types of loaches to your goldfish tank, but I have to disagree. I have heard of too many Fancy goldfish being injured or stressed due to the loaches, especially if your fish tank isn’t big enough.

I also have to add that I have read a few posts where people have mentioned that their loaches are just fine with their goldfish, so I’m not sure if it’s worth it to take the gamble of a 50/50 chance that it could or won’t work.

Long Fin Bristlenose Plecos are said to be tank mates for goldfish; maybe, if you have a large enough tank, you could look at getting one to add to your tank. I just wouldn’t suggest it, as Plecos are known to suck the slimy layer off goldfish, especially the Fancy goldfish that are slower moving. Once your Pleco discovers the yummy layer there is no stopping it.

Just to explain how the Plecos get to your goldfish, Plecos like operating at night time when all your goldfish are sleeping; this makes it the perfect time for them to start sucking on your dormant golden babies.

The other problem I have heard people experience is if they have more than one Pleco in their tank and the Plecos start “fighting” this stresses the other fish in the tank and is definitely not worth the said “benefits” of adding a Pleco to your tank.

Zebra Danios are active little fish that would make a great addition to your goldfish tank. Unfortunately, this would have to be a temporary addition as your goldfish will grow larger. With this, your Danios would eventually have an increased risk of decreasing in numbers as they would be able to fit into the mouths of your now larger goldfish.

So, if you are planning on starting another tank and you could incorporate your Danios into the new tank at a later stage then it would be perfect for you.