Silver Dollars

[Maisey]

Hi

I recently bought a fish tank, I have some knoweledge of them as my dad owned a few as I was growing up. I went to the pet shop today and my friend works there he is brilliant with fish and i ended up getting a silver dollar and a another fish for my tank. Since returing home I have researched both fish online and discovered a silver dollars are ment to grow up to 14cm. I am definet of the tank size but it is about 2.5-3ft and I am worrying my silver dollar will grow to big.
Is 14cm the maximum size or they tend to grow smaller? and is my tank suitable, or shall i return my new fish?

 

[minnnt]

Welcome to the forum. Silver Dollars should be in groups of around 5 or 6 at least and get the size of a tea plate. What was 'the other fish' ? Maybe your friend is not so good with fish after all?

 

[Maisey]

Yes I am thinking he has made a mistake with them, Yes i also read they should be in groups but he was the last one in the shop, the other fish was a golden honey gourmani so they are nothing alike. I think it's probably best I take him back then.

 

[Flame Heart]

Ya, I think returning the silver dollar would be the best thing to do. Also, have you even cycled the tank yet? If not then you have better watch your other fish very closely and prepare for a fish-in cycle.

 

[minnnt]

I would. The Honey Gourami is a great choice though!

 

[Maisey]

I get him back as soon as possible then thanks for the help.

The fish tank i got was already set up, it came from my friend who has gone to uni, fish and all.

I do love my gourmani just the colour is beautiful, I actually went to the pet for a dwarf gourmani but i am more than happy with my golden one.

 

[minnnt]

Honey's are often a better choice than Dwarfs as they're less aggressive.

 

[coldcazzie]

The fish tank i got was already set up, it came from my friend who has gone to uni, fish and all.

So did it already have some fish then? What else have you got?

 

[Maisey]

It came with guppies and mollies a few tetra's and a couple of other small species, she had the tank years, the guppies recently decided to breed constantly, have now stopped but i do need to give some to the pet shop, otherwise i will end up with a tank full of guppies lol. I wanted a few bigger size fish to stand out but obviously not the size of a dollar lol. I also could do with a algae eater and have been researching them as I no some species can grow very big.

 

[coldcazzie]

Good that you've been researching them - some do indeed grow very big! There is a list of plecs that stay under 6 inches in the catfish section. However, you should be aware that a plec will make more mess than it cleans up! They might well eat algae, but after all the algae is gone they will need feeding with veggies or they will starve, and they are poop machines! a nice alternative might be shrimp, depending of course on what kind of algae it is. Just remember though, the best person to clean your tank is you, not the fish

If you don't want babies then I would take the livebearers back to the shop, or stick to only males, and learn how to identify them yourself instead of relying on someone else to do it for you.

The tetras should ideally be in shoals of at least 6, but the bigger the better (you will see much more natural behaviour and they will be less stressed), so if there are dribs and drabs of tetras then perhaps decide which you like the best and swap the rest for more of that species

Tank dimensions would help with advice on which centrepiece fish you could reasonably have. Gouramis are good though, if you got a few more and had a group of those as centrepiece that would work really well. Just make sure to get the right m/f ratio. You should aim to have 1 male, and several females that way it's not just one female defending herself against a boistrous male, he can spread out his affections over many ladies, meaning the stress of being badgered is spread out too!

Hope that helps some

 

[Maisey]

Thankyou for the advice

I don't mind the live bearers at all but would like a fish to keep the babies at bay.
I have only had the fish tank about a week and haven't invested in any more tetras as of yet, my friend who i got the fish tank off did buy quite a few but only 2 lasted, and in my previous experience of tetras they do like to die alot lol, maybe its just the pet shop we went to I dont no.
I love the idea of having gourmanis as a centre piece as I do find them beautiful fish. How do you tell the differences between males and females though?
I will take a look at catfish section, i love the look of plecs just find them amazingly strange lol

I text my so called friend earlier explaining about the silver dollar and he is trying to tell me to get more and they will be fine for now I have never heard something so ridiculous.

 

[coldcazzie]

yeaaah don't do that

try to get fish taht you can accomodate as adults, instead of saying "oh they'll be fine, you can take them back to the shop when they get bigger".

are the two tetras the same or different?