How to Care for Silver Dollar Fish
Just a small article for people who need to know a few things before buying this amazing piranha (yes, they are related to piranhas but have tiny teeth).
[edit] Steps
- Silver Dollars do grow large and fast so you will probably need a big tank to accommodate them. Because they grow to the size of a dinner plate (8 inches in diameter), a VERY large tank will be needed to house a shoal of 4-6 adult fish. A 300 gallon or larger tank would be appropriate for these fish. So keep this in mind if you plan on having these fish for a long time.
- Silver Dollars prefer subdued lighting and may become shy if the lighting is too intense. But, they have been known to get used to regular lighting.
- The water should be to usual standards (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, <50 nitrate etc.), pH 6-7.5 or so.
- A good temperature would be about 24-28 C (75-80 F) or around that.
[edit] Tips
- Buy several plants for them to graze on so they won't totally destroy any single one, giving them a chance to grow back.
- They should also be fed some live foods like brine shrimp and blood-worms. Water quality doesn't seem to be critical but keep it clean.
- Silver dollars make a great addition to any large tank. They are a shoaling fish so try to get 6 or so of them.
[edit] Warnings
- Silver dollars are vegetarian by nature so they'll eat everything green but seem to avoid things like java moss and java fern as well as toughed leaved plants like anubia.










