Of course I am merely browsing through the fish at Walmart where aquariums are mis-marked and inaccurate fish information is provided.. when I come across a tank that states it has '
Silver Dollars' in it (and no the tank isn't filled with large silver coins). Myself having a rough idea of what the typical Silver Dollar fish looks like glanced into the tank not seeing any of these. I did however notice an interesting freckled specimen that I don't recall ever seeing before, so having little information about what fish are actually in this tank I did my best to research Silver Dollars. As luck would have it, it turns out it is not the typical Silver Dollar but what I believe to be fairly lackluster looking '
Spotted Silver Dollars' (apparently there are even 'Striped Silver Dollars' and a few other varieties you may came across in the Silver Dollar world).
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| Spotted Silver Dollars |
The Spotted Silver Dollar is a fish native to the Brazilian Amazon and rivers in the French Guiana, and it can reach up to 13cm in length, but I have
read some people claiming to have typical Silver Dollars which can apparently reach around 9in in length. I did find it peculiar that these fish almost mimic the ever-so popular Piranha or even the Pacu which are all Amazonian fish, and as it turns out they are actually closely related although these fish are mainly vegetarian with the exception of eating a few insects and possibly tiny fish that can fit in there mouths. Silver Dollars can apparently live up to 10 years, are a schooling species that's semi-aggressive, live in weedy dimly lit rivers, prefer a pH level of 5-7, like a water hardness level of 8-15dgh, and temperatures around 75-82
°F (although 80
°F seems ideal for both fry and adults).
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| Giant Silver Dollars |
As luck would have it I did unknowingly photograph some Giant Silver Dollars while in the Amazon area at the Baltimore Aquarium!
