Need to upsize the Silver Dollar tank

[pondfreak4365]

We have 6 SD's ranging from 3 to 5 inches across. They keep hitting the top of their 75 US gallon tank when frisking around, so I think they need a larger tank. Would deeper be better than a larger footprint?

TIA


BTW... current tank measures 48 inches by 18 inches and is 18 inches tall.

 

[swampcat]

My silver dollars Crash into the top in a 100 gallon 60"L x18"W x21"H. They are about 8 inches in length and have done this thru out their life. Think they would do it in a 150 gallon too. Don't no for sure though. Great fish one of my favorites, have them in a 55 gallon too. Their a smaller variety that only get 5 inches or so. Their are four varietys that I know of. All have crazy scientific names I can't remember, but all carry the common name of silver dollar. Check on internet theirs alot of cool info about them and their sizes, different markings and shapes(different kinds).

 

[pondfreak4365]

hi swampcat, thanks for replying. I believe that the ones we have are Myletes hypsauchen...just the plain silver dollars. Two of them seem to have the 'red hook' type lower fin, but they were all purchased together, 2 years ago as the same type I didn't think they were real Red Hooks because they definitely are doing the 'frisky' dance if you catch my drift, and I've read that Red Hooks don't breed in captivity. I'm glad to know that I don't have the only SD's that seem to be trying to jump out of the tank

 

[swampcat]

I have two red hooks, Had four, two jumped out of tank. Thru an opening for a hang on filter pretty tight space? The red hook has the red hook with black outlining the fin towards the back. The hooks are quite long and would stand out from the others. Also the red hook gets as tall as long, Keeps that round shape. The red hook will get to be about 8 inches.

I have two silver dollars that are more blackish in color and are nine years old are @ 4 1/2 to 5 inches and thats their max size. These two have a dark line thru their eyes, looks like a cats eye.

I have had all 4 types and looked them up years ago, to identify them. Had a really nice pair that had a red orange coloring towards their gill plates towards their chest got quite large (as big as a red hook). Have had trouble finding these again as well as the others mentioned above. Only the reg silver dollar and red hooks seem more common . Also the fish store I purased these fish from is out of business.

All of them will school and play with one another.

 

[pondfreak4365]

Do any of yours get black spots when they are breeding? The first time I saw the spots, I was convinced that the poor fish had a nasty fungus!
Mine are not Red Hooks, no black outline, just a white line (maybe males?). I love these babies, they line up and stare at me...makes me think they are trying some weird 'mind control' , like "You want to feed the fish, Pam" I halfway expect them to start doing the macarena or something, they line up just like a deck of cards or a chorus line

Sorry to hear about your suicidal red hooks I may need to add some covers around the hob's I have.

 

[swampcat]

I have had silver dollars with perm. black dots. the dots remained all the time. These grew to an oblong shape as they matured, they thined out and got long , lost their round shape more so than the others I've had.

I have also seen red hooks with really small black specks that look like pepper and pertrude a little , is this what yours have? Looks almost like black ick. This is normal I have been told.

The only opening in my top is where the filters are, and are cut to the exact size. This is the space they jumped thru (@ 3/4 inch) between filter return and tank top . The one I found dried out and dead. The other had landed in my son's turtle tank which I kept under the fish tank. he was of course eaten ,all but his head. These were mature red hooks I had for @ 4 years or so. Have had dollars for many years and only happened twice in say 10- 12 year period.

I have always been under the impression that no silver dollars or hooks will mate in captivity. Mine go thru rituals as if they are but thats it. Have you had any luck with mating? I would love for them to mate, would be pretty cool. I have convicts that mate all the time, use them as feeders. Convicts mate like roaches and nobody will take them. The Red hooks eat them, so much for being veggies. The other silver dollars do not eat them.

 

[pondfreak4365]

No success yet, but I keep hoping! Probably need to move all the others from the tank. We have 7 Melanotaenia splendida and 5 glass cats in there too. I always figured the rainbow's were eating all the eggs or fry That tank is overcrowded, but in my defense, I run 120 gallons worth of filtration and an undergravel with 2 powerheads. I'm really wanting to move the silver dollars into a larger tank, just have to find space for it!

 

[swampcat]

My tanks have always been overcrowded. I have filtration for 300 gallons in my 100. Have filtration for 200 gallon in my 55. I just use aquaclear filters . Use ceramic cylinders and lava rock for bacteria to colonize. I also float bio chem stars in filter intake chambers. In the 55 I have a tree stump stuffed with bio balls with an air stone in the bottom creating water flow thru the bio balls . Never have bad water readings.

I also have my dollars mixed with others including convicts, a 12-13 inch oscar,pleco,and rainbow shark. My other tank has silver dollars with angels, festivums, blue rams,and a irredesent shark.

Silver dollars can be kept with community and nasty fish pretty well. They will eat cardinals,guppies and neons though.

 

[pondfreak4365]

This is not the clearest pic, but it's of one of my sd's that I had originally thought was a red hook. See the white leading edge to the anal fin?