TankBud

Blue hook silver dollar

Myloplus aylan

Also known as Aylan's silver dollar, Blue hook myloplus

FreshwaterFish

Blue hook silver dollar (Myloplus aylan)

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–82°F
24–28°C
pH
5.0–7.0
Adult size
13.8 in
35 cm
Minimum tank
170 gal
645 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Schooling
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Serrasalmidae
Origin
Western Amazon basin, Peru and Brazil

Overview

The blue hook silver dollar is a large, disk-shaped schooling fish for the middle of a very big tank. It is best with a little experience and a lot of room.

Did you know

Myloplus aylan was named in 2024 after Aylan Moraes Andrade, the infant son of one of the researchers. Aylan was born in late 2022 and died the following year.

Caring for the blue hook silver dollar

Keep blue hook silver dollars in a group of at least five, since lone or paired fish tend to be skittish and stressed. They need a large tank of at least 170 gal (645 L) with open swimming space, a sandy floor and some large driftwood. Steady filtration keeps oxygen high, and current is welcome, since they are strong swimmers.

Keep the water at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C) with a soft, slightly acidic to neutral pH of 5.0 to 7.0. Feed a mostly vegetable diet of blanched greens, spirulina and quality pellets, with occasional frozen foods. Live plants will usually be grazed down, so use tough or artificial ones and leave fine plants out.

The blue hook silver dollar is mostly peaceful toward tank mates, but it grows big. It works best with other calm, similarly sized fish, and its tank mates should be too large to look like a snack. Mature males grow a reddish, hooked anal fin. Aquarium breeding has not been recorded.

Good to know

The blue hook silver dollar is a pacu in the family Serrasalmidae, the same group that holds the piranhas. Like other silver dollars, it is mainly a plant eater with flat, crushing teeth. It carries a broad dark bar across a tall, silvery body. The hooked anal fin of the males gives the trade name blue hook. It was previously lumped with the widespread Myloplus schomburgkii.

In the wild

The blue hook silver dollar comes from the western Amazon basin in Peru and Brazil. It lives in warm river channels and flooded forest, where soft, acidic water flows over sand and submerged wood.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The blue hook silver dollar is a mostly peaceful, schooling species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a blue hook silver dollar need?

A blue hook silver dollar needs at least 170 gal (645 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a blue hook silver dollar need?

A blue hook silver dollar is comfortable at 75–82°F (24–28°C) with a pH of 5.0–7.0.

What does a blue hook silver dollar eat?

A blue hook silver dollar eats a mostly vegetable diet of blanched greens, spirulina and quality pellets. Add occasional frozen foods, and expect it to graze live plants down.

How big does a blue hook silver dollar get?

An adult blue hook silver dollar reaches about 13.8 in (35 cm).

Does a blue hook silver dollar need a group?

Yes. A blue hook silver dollar is a schooling species and should be kept in a group, not singly.

How can you tell a male blue hook silver dollar from a female?

Mature males grow a reddish, hooked anal fin.

Related species