Metynnis argenteus
Encyclopedia
Silver dollar is a common name given to a number of species of fishes, mostly in the genus Metynnis, tropical fish
belonging to the Characidae
family which are closely related to piranha
and pacu
. South America
, 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 maximum lifespan is more than 10 years. A chin-layer, the adult fish will spawn
around 2,000 eggs. This breeding occurs in soft, warm water in low light.
Silver dollars natively live in a tropical 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
(75–82 °F
). Their diet is almost exclusively vegetarian and in captivity they will often eat all the plants in a tank. They will also eat worm
s and small insect
s.
s and guppies. These fish can also be kept with larger fish like oscars, pikes, and larger catfish when full grown.
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.
Hard Bellies are silvery and somewhat transparent; they are the most commonly encountered species.
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
belonging to the Characidae
Characidae
The Characidae, characids or characins are a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is the historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their status as a by and large monophyletic group at family...
family which are closely related to piranha
Piranha
A piranha or piraña is a member of family Characidae in order Characiformes, an omnivorous freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers. In Venezuela, they are called caribes...
and pacu
Pacú
Pacu or pacú is the common name of several South American fishes.PACU, Pacu or pacú may also refer to:*Piaractus mesopotamicus , a South American ray-finned fish that is endemic to the Paraguay-Paraná River basin*Tambaqui , known as black pacu, black-finned pacu, giant pacu*Philippine Association...
. South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, 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 maximum lifespan is more than 10 years. A chin-layer, the adult fish will spawn
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
around 2,000 eggs. This breeding occurs in soft, warm water in low light.
Silver dollars natively live in a tropical climate in the sides of weedy rivers. They prefer water with a pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
of 5–7, a water hardness of up to 15 dGH
DGH
Degrees of general hardness is a unit of water hardness, specifically of general hardness.General hardness is a measure of the concentration of metal divalent ions such as calcium and magnesium per volume of water...
, and an ideal temperature range of 24–28 °C
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
(75–82 °F
Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...
). Their diet is almost exclusively vegetarian and in captivity they will often eat all the plants in a tank. They will also eat worm
Worm
The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s and small insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s.
Fish compatibility
The silver dollar is listed as semi-aggressive but it is very mellow like the pacu. These fish can be kept in community tanks with fish that can't fit in their mouths, so don't put a full-grown silver dollar with small neon tetraNeon tetra
The neon tetra is a freshwater fish of the characin family of order Characiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to blackwater or clearwater streams in southeastern Colombia, eastern Peru, and western Brazil, including the tributaries of the Solimões where the water is between...
s and guppies. These fish can also be kept with larger fish like oscars, pikes, and larger catfish when full grown.
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 leafed 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.
Silver dollar species
-
- Metynnis altidorsalis
- Metynnis argenteusMetynnis argenteusSilver dollar is a common name given to a number of species of fishes, mostly in the genus Metynnis, tropical fish belonging to the Characidae family which are closely related to piranha and pacu...
- Silver dollar
- Metynnis fasciatus
- Striped silver dollar
- Metynnis guaporensis
- Metynnis hypsauchenMetynnis hypsauchenMetynnis hypsauchen is a species of characin found in Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana and Peru. It is one of the fish knowns as the "silver dollar" in the aquarium trade....
- Schreitmüller's silver dollar
- Striped silver dollar
- Metynnis lippincottianus
- Spotted silver dollar
- Metynnis luna
- Red-spot silver dollar
- Metynnis maculatusMetynnis maculatusMetynnis maculatus, the Spotted metynnis, is a species of characin found in Argentina and Brazil and possibly in Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru. It is one of the species of fish known in the aquarium trade as the "silver dollar"....
- Speckled silver dollar
- Metynnis mola
- Metynnis otuquensis
- Myleus schomburgki
- Black-barred silver dollar
- Myloplus rubripinnis
- Red hook silver dollar
- Mylossoma duriventre
- Silver mylossoma
- Hard-bellied silver dollar
Hard Bellies are silvery and somewhat transparent; they are the most commonly encountered species.