--- Silver Dollar fish ---

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Also check out these quick (short page) references: Aquaria Central - Silver Dollar (short)
Aquaria Central - Silver Dollar (more complete)

I have two that I have had since June 1995, so I can tell you what I have found out or that was suggested to me by others.

Silver Dollars are mainly herbivores (an animal that feeds chiefly on plants) and they can do a lot of damage to planted tanks, although mine are doing very well with Java Fern, Java Moss, and Water Sprite. Some of their favorite plants to eat are Cambomba and Hornwort. Once in the tank, these plants last no more than 24 hours with my two. Fortunately I can find both in local rivers so I put these in mainly as a snack rather than as aquascaping.

They will eat flake food, but they are such big eaters, flake food never seems like enough. It is best to go with floating food pellets. I use Doro Green which is primarily suited toward vegetarian eaters. Mine seem to really like them. They are also very fond of (slightly cooked, skins removed) frozen peas. I have also found mine will eat earthworms and tuna fish (packed in spring water, NOT oil) as well as overly ripe small pieces of banana. Since Silver Dollars are so big, you don't really need to chop the earthworms up. Just limit the pieces to no more than about an inch long and your Silver Dollars will probably love them.

They are also messy eaters, so if you go the food stick route, you might want to consider adding something to help clean up any missed food (when they eat the food sticks, particles go everywhere). Cory Catfish, loaches, snails, etc. all will work.

Mine are very shy. Be sure to provide a few places for them to hide if you don't have a planted tank. Like maybe a big rock or a fake plant they can go behind in the corner to hide (since, by their normal reaction, you have obviously entered the room for the sole purpose of killing them!).

They will get big and are excellent swimmers. I often see Silver Dollars as big in diameter as a baseball, and have heard reports of them being as big as softballs. So keep this in mind if you have a small tank. If they do well, you may have to get them a bigger tank.

Also developing of spots is normal. Many people get concerned when they start showing their spots, thinking that they have some sort of disease or fungus. This is because the spots are usually kind of muted/blurred instead of clear/sharp, and kind of appear like they are below the surface of the skin instead of a surface pigment.

Date: 26 Sep 1995

Silver Dollars are usually one of a number of species of the genus Metynnis, or sometimes Myleus. The ones we usually get here in Australia are Metynnis argenteus, but others, such as Metynnis maculatus, etc. are also available in other countries. They all come from South America, and grow to 5-6 inches in length.

They are very peaceful fishes, preferring to be kept in a group if possible. They are rather shy, and tend to panic quite easily if startled. They get along very well with other fishes in a community tank, and are also quite long-lived.

They are not too fussy about water conditions, so slightly acid to slightly alkaline, soft to medium hard and around 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit will suit them fine. Water quality should be kept high though, with regular partial water changes.

They will eat most foods, and some that I feed them include beef heart, cooked green peas, canned prawn, cooked or raw non-oily fish, flake and other commercially prepared dried foods, brine shrimp, bloodworm, etc. As they are at least partially vegetarian, I feed them quite a lot of peas, and they really relish these. They will also tend to eat the plants in a planted tank, particularly if they're not being fed enough vegetable food.

You can distinguish the sexes by the anal fin. In the male, the front part is extended into a lobe shape, whereas, in the female, it is straight along its length. This only becomes apparent as the fish matures, however, so it is not really possible to sex young ones. Mature males are also usually more colourful.

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From: V Lekhakul
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 1995

I had mine for about 3 years now and he's about 5" long now. I used to have 2 of them but just lost one of them about 3 months ago. They are vegetarian fish. At first, they used to chew up all my Amazon sword, but now he doesn't touch it. I feed him romaine lettuce, I've heard that spinach will work too. Mine will not touch the spinach. I guess he liked the crunch!! I also feed them the algae wafer, the one for the pleco.

My silver dollar seemed to be more of an omnivore. I feed the discus in my tank some home-made discus diet which composed of beefheart and other stuff. The silver dollar really go for that stuff. Now his color is more of orange-red, like a Red-hook.

They are easily spooked though. Just don't walk by in white shirt!! Make sure you have enough room for them to swim since they seemed to be a very good swimmer.

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From: lordmayor@delphi.com (Lord Mayor)
Date: 27 Sep 1995

Timid fish - very prone to jumping when frightened, and just walking past their tank can sometimes be enough to get them leaping and splashing. Mainly veggie eaters - very fond of tender plants - mine clear cut my valisneria in a matter of a couple of days - they get extra veggie flakes when I feed - also a hunk of lettuce now and then. The tank they are in is heavily planted, they seem to appreciate the hiding places in the thicket of tall leaves - occasional ragged edges mean they are sneaking a bite now and then, but plant damage is minimal these days. Mine are 4 or 5 years old, bout the diameter of a tennis ball, never had any health problems.

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Last modified: June 14, 2001
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