Siler Dollar

[squishy_1984]

how many silver dollars could i fit in a 55 gal tank, i want them as dither fish for my green terror.

Would i be able to get a good school of them 4-5 plus the GT 1.5 inches at the moment (will grow to 8-9 inches) or am i pushing my luck???

jd

 

[diademhill]

how many silver dollars could i fit in a 55 gal tank, i want them as dither fish for my green terror.

Would i be able to get a good school of them 4-5 plus the GT 1.5 inches at the moment (will grow to 8-9 inches) or am i pushing my luck???

jd

Why would a green terror need dither fish? IME they are not shy.
Given that an adult GT takes a territory of about a cubic yard that gives a space of about a foot for any other fish.....I wouldn't risk silver dollars. A shoal of large tiger barbs might work as you could arrange decor so they can get away from the GT.


( without the GT about 5 SD might fit)

 

[squishy_1984]

ok thanks, saw on a few threads on a cichlid forum of people using tiger barbs.
i will leave it as it is for now.

cheers

jd

 

[vancouver]

In another thread I thought silver dollars would be ok.. tiger barbs might work too, but when the GT is larger, I would worry about even full sized tiger barbs.

 

[jayjay]

tiger barbs might work as they are quick but adult GT and some tiger barbs? i think at some point the GT might catch one.

 

[squishy_1984]

been doing a little more research and found i could put a red finned or red tailed shark in with him aswell

 

[Iron Man]

4 Silver Dollars would be just fine.

 

[squishy_1984]

do you think 4 fully grown silver dollars would take attention away from my green terror once he is fully grown?

 

[TammyLiz]

You mean aesthetically? I don't think so. I think they would add interest, not take it away. IMO, its nice to have more than one thing to look at in a tank, so someone viewing it has a longer attention span. And if someone were only taking a short glance at the tank, the silver dollars would be something nice to look at, in case your GT is not in view.

 

[Iron Man]

What she said.

 

[squishy_1984]

will be buying 4 slver dollars on saturday then. i can't wait.

read that green terrors are slow growers so the silver dollars should grow quicker than the gt.

thanks for the help all

jd

 

[vancouver]

I've found my silver dollars have grown at way different rates. I'm really not sure why. I've had one for a year, and it hasn't grown at all 3'' when I bought it, still 3''. I bought 3 new ones around x-mas, and 1 of them went from 1'' - 3'' already, the other 2 haven't grown at all. I really don't know why.. could have something to do with the sex.

Keeping the water clean and feeding good quality foods should help them grow if you're worried about the green terror. You could always divide them if the GT is being too much of a terror towards them.

 

[ringham]

they shud b fine

 

[TammyLiz]

I've found my silver dollars have grown at way different rates. I'm really not sure why. I've had one for a year, and it hasn't grown at all 3'' when I bought it, still 3''. I bought 3 new ones around x-mas, and 1 of them went from 1'' - 3'' already, the other 2 haven't grown at all. I really don't know why.. could have something to do with the sex.

Keeping the water clean and feeding good quality foods should help them grow if you're worried about the green terror. You could always divide them if the GT is being too much of a terror towards them.

Whenever something isn't growing as you would expect, I think it's a good idea to consider the possibility of internal parasites. Its my new kick. I caught it from someone on this forum who has treated all his tanks with various parasite meds with some surprising results. (Most of the conversations have been through PM) Slow growth is a clue. The little ones might be warring with something for their nutrition. Unless they get less food than the others, it is probably parasites.