anybody know if silver dollars have ever been bred in captivity I have a beautiful golden dollar (color is natural) and would like to breed him/her!
duplicating dollars!!!
- Thread starter rweedon
- Start date
DeLgAdO said:lol, when i first read it i though you wanted to know how to counterfeit money
Why do you know how? I'm in if you do!!!
Silver dollars are an easy breeding fish if you have a large enough tank, They are egg scatterers and breed in shoals so the more the better, condition the fish to breed with high quality granules and brine shrimp and black worms, stands of plants that reach the surface like bunches of elodea are good, the fish will spawn between them and the eggs fall to the bottom, silver dollars don't eat their eggs but other fish will, the females can lay up to 2,000 eggs at a time, they are tiny. the water should be a bit soft and 6.0 -7.0 ph at 79-82 degrees F. the eggs take 3-4 days to hatch and the fry will come to the surface, they are tiny and can be removed with a turkey baster to a rearing tank, the adults do sometimes eat the fry. The fry feed on infusotia and plankton for the first couple weeks, there is a liquid fry food available that works, after the 1at week or so you can start useing powdered fish food flakes, daphnia, and baby brine shrimp.
My 2-3 year old silver dollars spawn quite regularly in a 125 gal 6ft tank kept at 79-81 degrees w/ 7.9ph. They are kept w/ african cichlids (hence no silver dollar fry).
I feed the tank cheap wardley/walmart goldfish flake and pond pellets ($8 gets 5lbs-where can I get cheaper stuff?) and occassionally boiled spinich or letuce... I'll starve the whole tank for 2-3 days then feed them greens and once a month the silvers do their shimmy for 2-3 hours and the cichlids feast- the first time I noticed the shimmy and saw the eggs drop must have been the first time, because it took the other fish several minutes to catch on to what was happening. Now as soon as the dance begins all the cichlid rush to the sand and search for "caviar". Maybe one of these days I'll breed the silvers, but tank space is valuable...and the wife likes colorful fish more then silver fish.
So right now a 6 foot tank dedicated to a breeding group of silver dollars and fry just wouldnt work.
I feed the tank cheap wardley/walmart goldfish flake and pond pellets ($8 gets 5lbs-where can I get cheaper stuff?) and occassionally boiled spinich or letuce... I'll starve the whole tank for 2-3 days then feed them greens and once a month the silvers do their shimmy for 2-3 hours and the cichlids feast- the first time I noticed the shimmy and saw the eggs drop must have been the first time, because it took the other fish several minutes to catch on to what was happening. Now as soon as the dance begins all the cichlid rush to the sand and search for "caviar". Maybe one of these days I'll breed the silvers, but tank space is valuable...and the wife likes colorful fish more then silver fish.
So right now a 6 foot tank dedicated to a breeding group of silver dollars and fry just wouldnt work.
From Shirlie Sharpe,
Metynnis argenteus
* Family: Serrasalmidae
* Origin: Guyana
* Adult Size: 5 inches (14 cm)
* Social: Peaceful, suitable for community tanks
* Lifespan: 10+ years
* Tank Level: Mid dweller
* Minimum Tank Size: 20 gallons
* Diet: Herbivore, eats plants
* Breeding: Egglayer
* Care: Intermediate
* pH: 5.0 - 7.0
* Hardness: up to 15 dGH
* Temperature: 75-82 F (24-28 C)
Description
Looking at the round flat, and shimmery silvered colored Silver Dollar, it is easy to see how it acquired the name. Although many specimens seen in shops are scarcely larger than the size of a dime, don't be fooled. Adults become much larger than their namesake, growing to nearly a half foot across.
There are well over a dozen species of Silver Dollars, all of which are similar in appearance. Metynnis argenteus, Metynnis hypsauchen, Metynnis lippincottianus, Myleus rubripinnis , and Mylossoma aureum, are all species regularly seen for sale in the aquarium industry. Metynnis argenteus is the most commonly seen species for sale, and can sometimes be distinguished from other species by small dots on their sides. Males have a longer anal fin, tinged in red on the front. They are a schooling fish by nature, and do best when kept in schools of three or more.
Habitat/Care
Silver dollars prefer subdued lighting, dark substrate, plenty of room to move about as well as some good hiding places. Because they will eat live plants, it?s advisable to use plastic plants, or very sturdy live plants. Although not fussy about water conditions, they do best in soft moderately acidic water.
Diet
Interestingly enough Silver Dollars are in the same family as Piranhas, but instead of being carnivores, they are almost exclusively vegetarian. Among their favored foods are vegetable flakes such as spirulina, lettuce, watercress, and cooked romaine or spinach. They will also eat cooked vegetables such as peas and squash. When feeing any fresh food, take extra care to remove any uneaten portions promptly, as it will foul the water.
Even though the Silver Dollar prefers a vegetarian diet, they will eat meaty foods as treats. They are especially fond of bloodworms, mosquito larvae (glass worms), and brine shrimp. If the Silver Dollar is in a community tank, watch them at feeding time to ensure that more active and aggressive fish don?t get all the food. Silver Dollars can be rather timid in a crowd, and can end up underfed as a result.
Breeding
Much like Angelfish, the best way to acquire a breeding pair is to purchase a half dozen juvenile silver dollars and raise them together. Although the parents will not consume the eggs or fry, 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 (which will be eaten if they are live rather than plastic 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.
Metynnis argenteus
* Family: Serrasalmidae
* Origin: Guyana
* Adult Size: 5 inches (14 cm)
* Social: Peaceful, suitable for community tanks
* Lifespan: 10+ years
* Tank Level: Mid dweller
* Minimum Tank Size: 20 gallons
* Diet: Herbivore, eats plants
* Breeding: Egglayer
* Care: Intermediate
* pH: 5.0 - 7.0
* Hardness: up to 15 dGH
* Temperature: 75-82 F (24-28 C)
Description
Looking at the round flat, and shimmery silvered colored Silver Dollar, it is easy to see how it acquired the name. Although many specimens seen in shops are scarcely larger than the size of a dime, don't be fooled. Adults become much larger than their namesake, growing to nearly a half foot across.
There are well over a dozen species of Silver Dollars, all of which are similar in appearance. Metynnis argenteus, Metynnis hypsauchen, Metynnis lippincottianus, Myleus rubripinnis , and Mylossoma aureum, are all species regularly seen for sale in the aquarium industry. Metynnis argenteus is the most commonly seen species for sale, and can sometimes be distinguished from other species by small dots on their sides. Males have a longer anal fin, tinged in red on the front. They are a schooling fish by nature, and do best when kept in schools of three or more.
Habitat/Care
Silver dollars prefer subdued lighting, dark substrate, plenty of room to move about as well as some good hiding places. Because they will eat live plants, it?s advisable to use plastic plants, or very sturdy live plants. Although not fussy about water conditions, they do best in soft moderately acidic water.
Diet
Interestingly enough Silver Dollars are in the same family as Piranhas, but instead of being carnivores, they are almost exclusively vegetarian. Among their favored foods are vegetable flakes such as spirulina, lettuce, watercress, and cooked romaine or spinach. They will also eat cooked vegetables such as peas and squash. When feeing any fresh food, take extra care to remove any uneaten portions promptly, as it will foul the water.
Even though the Silver Dollar prefers a vegetarian diet, they will eat meaty foods as treats. They are especially fond of bloodworms, mosquito larvae (glass worms), and brine shrimp. If the Silver Dollar is in a community tank, watch them at feeding time to ensure that more active and aggressive fish don?t get all the food. Silver Dollars can be rather timid in a crowd, and can end up underfed as a result.
Breeding
Much like Angelfish, the best way to acquire a breeding pair is to purchase a half dozen juvenile silver dollars and raise them together. Although the parents will not consume the eggs or fry, 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 (which will be eaten if they are live rather than plastic 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.
I've read many articles that stated the males have the "red hooks" on their anal fins, but in watching my three (two w/ red hooks, one w/o) it is the fish w/o the red hook that instigates mating and wraps it's anal fin around the red hooked fish. This behavior lead me to the conclusion that:
red hooks = female, and the two black dots on the side = male breeding color.
I'll get some video the next time my group spawns and try to verify male and female.
If anyone has first hand experience to the contrary let me know.
