Banded silver dollar

Metynnis fasciatus

Also known as Banded metynnis, Tiger silver dollar

FreshwaterFish

Banded silver dollar (Metynnis fasciatus) — (c) B. Phalan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 5.5–7.2
Adult size: 3.9 in (10 cm)
Minimum tank: 70 gal (265 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Common
Origin: Lower Amazon tributaries, Brazil
Family: Serrasalmidae

Overview

A barred silver dollar that needs to be kept as a school of six or more, in a 265 liter tank with height as well as length. It is a committed herbivore: feed spirulina flake, blanched vegetables and vegetable-based pellets, and accept that it will eat any soft plant in the tank. It is peaceful and suits larger community fish. A group is far calmer than two or three, which spook and crash into the glass.

In the wild

Metynnis fasciatus lives in lower Amazon tributaries in Brazil, in warm water running soft to neutral among submerged branches and vegetation. Keep it at 24 to 28 degrees Celsius and pH 5.5 to 7.2, with open swimming space and subdued lighting.

Good to know

Metynnis fasciatus reaches about 10 centimeters and carries a series of narrow vertical bars, which sets it apart from the plain-sided silver dollars usually sold. Serrasalmids like this one are close relatives of the piranhas but have grinding molar-like teeth for plant material rather than shearing ones.

Did you know

Its bars strengthen and fade with mood and light, a dollar that flickers between striped and plain.

Tank mates

Banded silver dollar is a peaceful, schooling species that keeps to the middle. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.