Took a few happy snaps of my Silver Dollars today, they definitely are a shoaling fish! Let me know what you think,
Always hanging out together, watching them chase whichever one has the algae wafer in its mouth is entertaining


the one at the top is nicknamed 'scarfish' I don't think the scales will come completely back.

I think I have 2 males and 2 females. Hard to tell in these dark photos, but the 2 larger ones have very red anal and caudal fins, the 2 smaller ones have red bellies and not so red fins.

2 spotted SDs from my other tank, these guys are alot smaller and have a more gold colour to them. Where I bought them from listed them as 'dwarf' Silver Dollars? I have had them for quite a while and they don't seem to be getting much bigger.

love em! think they r beautiful fish.....

nice SD's auscar =] =]

aus-car wrote:
[quote]
and now you made me jealous...
I just love the spotted ones.
I never heard of dwarf SD's, but it could be that the spotted sd's stay a little smaller than the regular ones.
i saw a tank with baby piranha's this weekend, and their resemblance with the spotted sd's is remarkable.

you description to define gender seems good, my females all are a bit bigger than the males.



this is a male, and the fin looks like it's been nipped in the middle.
and it's the same "nip" my males have got.



the one in the middle has the distinct red pointed fin, without the 'nip' and is a female imo.


better get used to scales missing, mine battle eachother and bash into the decorations, and do miss a lot of scales.
but those scars give them their personal touch and the nightlights reflect especially nice on those missing scales.
if you got the time, please take some more shots of the spotted ones, for i like them very much.

Very nice! I think I have a second love... maybe I forgo the breeder tank and get me some of those guys!! (after research)

very nice SDs auscar. I have never heard of dwarf SDs either. cool though.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Noddy I know what you mean about resembling baby Red Bellies, I can assure you they aren't Piranha I'd be in trouble if they were, they are Noxious species and illegal to have here in Australia.

I'll try to get some decent pictures of the Spotties most ricky tick.

Brooksie they are good value to watch, they have a personality all to their own (they sometimes go mental for no reason) When I grew the Silvers to a decent size to house with my Oscars, I scooped them out and into a bucket. One of them was spinning around in circles along the rim of the bucket while upside down!

All it needed was the sound Homer Simpson makes when he goes "whoooop whoop whoop whoop whoop whoooooop whoop whoop!!" in circles on the carpet

Brooksie wrote:


easy fish and in a single species tank, they may easily spawn, and have 2-3000 eggs at one go.
But their odd shape makes them only suitable as food at a very young age.

and Auscar, mine indeed go berserk during wc, and i have to move them in the right direction, for they freak out into a corner and don't understand how to turn, once they get spooked.

Sd's are great fun to watch. Mine spook during water changes too, they hide in a corner (this is how one of mine got a heater burn)

As per Noddy's request....

Not the sharpest picture ever taken I had very little light to work with, but it's better than nothing

Lately I have notice one of them with very strong colours and a black mark has appeared on it's side, and has been chasing the other SD relentlessly at times. I wondering if it is showing breeding colours? I will try and get a photo in daylight hours to compare the two.

aus-car wrote:


Thanx, mate.
Very cool!
And you noticed correctly, the males get dark edges on their fins and portrait a dark "shoulderspot" as they call it, once they're ready to mate.
It's indeed breeding colours, and only the males show those colours.
Mine show the same spots, but strangely enough it's mostly the males rubbing up to eachother instead of the males going at it with the females.

Well, those who keep Silver Dollars already know they are a bit 'strange' to say the least

I just have the two spotted SDs in the same tank, once I clear up some real estate from my "glass prison" full of Convicts, I may get a couple more spotties to hang out with them. It doesn't seem fair to give a shoaling fish only 1 other buddy to swim around with.