Silver dollar is a common name given to a number of species of fishes, mostly in the genus '' Metynnis'',

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

belonging to the family

Serrasalmidae The Serrasalmidae (serrasalmids) are a family of characiform fishes native to freshwater habitats of South America. They include more than 90 species. The name means "serrated salmon family", which refers to the serrated keel running along the ...

which are closely related to

piranha A piranha (, or ; ) is any of a number of freshwater fish species in the subfamily Serrasalminae, of the family Serrasalmidae, in the order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs. Although ...

and

pacu Pacu () is a common name used to refer to several species of omnivorous South American freshwater Serrasalmidae, serrasalmid fish related to piranhas. Pacu and piranha do not have similar teeth, the main difference being jaw alignment; piranha ...

. Most commonly, the name refers to '' Metynnis argenteus''. Native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, these somewhat round-shaped silver fish are popular with fish-keeping hobbyists. The silver dollar is a peaceful schooling species that spends most of its time in the mid- to upper-level of the water. Its average lifespan is less than ten years but can live longer in captivity. A benthic spawner and egg scatterer, the adult fish will

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawning, the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** ''Spawn: Armageddon' ...

around 2,000 eggs. This breeding occurs in soft, warm water in low light. Silver dollars natively live in a

climate in the sides of weedy rivers. They prefer water with a pH of 5–7, a water hardness of up to 15 dGH, and an ideal temperature range of 24–28

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

(75–82

°F The Fahrenheit scale () is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the German-Polish physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accounts of how he original ...

). Their diet is almost exclusively

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and in captivity they will often eat all the plants in a tank. They will also eat

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateria, bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limb (anatomy), limbs, and usually no eyes. Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine ...

s and small

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

Fish compatibility

The silver dollar is listed as semi-aggressive but some silver dollars can be very mellow. These fish can be kept in community tanks with fish that can't fit in their mouths, and once fully grown, they can be kept with larger fish like oscars, pikes, and larger catfish.

Breeding

The best way to acquire a breeding pair is to purchase a half dozen juvenile silver dollars and raise them together. The parents will not consume the eggs or fry, although other fish will, so when spawning them it is wise to place them in a separate tank. To facilitate spawning, make sure the water is soft (8 dgH or below) and warm (80 to 82 F), keep the lighting dim, and provide fine-leaved plants. Eventually a pair will spawn, and the female will lay up to 2000 eggs. The eggs will fall to the bottom of the tank, where they will hatch in three days. After approximately a week, the fry will be free swimming and able to eat fine foods such as commercially prepared fry food, finely-crushed spirulina, or freshly-hatched

brine shrimp ''Artemia'' is a genus of aquatic crustaceans also known as brine shrimp or ''Sea-Monkeys, sea monkeys''. It is the only genus in the Family (biology), family Artemiidae. The first historical record of the existence of ''Artemia'' dates back to t ...

Silver dollar species

*'' Metynnis altidorsalis'' *'' Metynnis argenteus'' (Silver dollar) *'' Metynnis fasciatus'' (Striped silver dollar) *'' Metynnis guaporensis'' *'' Metynnis hypsauchen'' (Schreitmüller's silver dollar, Striped silver dollar) *''

Metynnis lippincottianus ''Metynnis lippincottianus'', commonly known as the spotted silver dollar, is a species of serrasalmid native to the Brazilian Amazon and multiple rivers of French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and re ...

'' (Spotted silver dollar) *'' Metynnis luna'' (Red-spot silver dollar) *'' Metynnis maculatus'' (Speckled silver dollar) *'' Metynnis mola'' *'' Metynnis otuquensis'' *'' Myloplus rubripinnis'' (Red hook silver dollar) *'' Myloplus schomburgkii'' (Black-barred silver dollar) *'' Mylossoma duriventre'' (Silver mylossoma (Hard-bellied silver dollar) Hard bellies are silvery and somewhat transparent; they are the most commonly encountered species.

References

Serrasalmidae Fish common names Paraphyletic groups {{characiformes-stub

Fish compatibility

Breeding

Silver dollar species

See also

References