Silver Dollar
Metynnis argenteus
- Care level
- Advanced
- Adult size
- 15 cm
- Minimum tank
- 260 litres
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C
Species profile
Siamese Tigerfish
Datnioides microlepis
Common names: Siamese Tigerfish, Indonesian Tiger Perch, Finescale Tigerfish
Recognized speciesOddballs
Adult size
Up to 50 cm
Up to 50 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A keeper with room for a large aquarium
Think carefully if
- You keep smaller fish, which it may eat
- You cannot provide about 1350 litres for a fully grown fish
- You keep shrimp you want to protect
A large, boldly barred predator, with six or seven dark bars on a golden body, that reaches about 50 cm. Keep alone or in a small group in 1350 litres or more.
Appearance and Identification
A large, boldly barred predator, with six or seven dark bars on a golden body, that reaches about 50 cm. It needs a tank at least 2 metres long, and it eats any fish it can swallow.
Check the scientific name when buying, as common names vary between sellers and countries.
Sexes are usually hard to tell apart.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 5,400–6,750 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 1350–2025 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 1350 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 240 cm
- Minimum group size
- 1
- Recommended group size
- 1
- Activity level
- Moderate
- Flow preference
- Low to moderate
- Planting preference
- Moderately planted
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Moderate
Allow plenty of room, use a very secure lid and fit strong filtration. Predators produce a lot of waste, and many are strong jumpers.
Behaviour and Tankmates
A predator that spends much of its time watching and waiting for prey.
Usually best alone, or in a very large tank with others of its size.
Many are intolerant of their own kind.
It will eat any fish that fits in its mouth, so keep it with fish too big to swallow, or alone. It is likely to eat shrimp. Choose its tankmates with care.
Water Parameters
Fairly tolerant of different water, if it is clean and stable.
Parameter caveat
Keep up regular water changes, and acclimatise new fish slowly.
Feeding
- Diet types
- Carnivore, Predator
- Feeding frequency
- Daily
- Preferred foods
- Quality carnivore pelletsWorth training it onto these, as they are balanced and clean.
- Frozen prawn, mussel and fishUse a variety. Avoid a diet of feeder fish, which can bring in disease.
- EarthwormsA good food, and most predators take them readily.
A large predator that eats fish and crustaceans. Feed frozen fish, prawns and krill.
Feed small amounts, and remove anything left after a few minutes.
Breeding
- Breeding type
- Egg Scatterer
- Breeding difficulty
- Moderate
- Parental care
- None
- Baby foods
- InfusoriaNeeded for the first days, because most fry are very small.
- Newly hatched brine shrimpIntroduce as soon as the fry can take it.
An egg scatterer with no parental care. Adults eat eggs and fry, so use a separate tank with fine plants, moss or mesh on the bottom, and remove the adults after spawning. The fry need very small foods at first.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Indonesia, Malaysia, Southeast Asia
- Natural habitat
- Brackish Water, River
- Aquarium contexts
- Large Freshwater Aquarium, Planted Aquarium
- Audience level
- Specialist
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Datnioides
- Family
- Lobotidae
- Species group
- Fish, Oddballs
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Distichodus sexfasciatus
- Care level
- Specialist
- Adult size
- 75 cm
- Minimum tank
- 1944 litres
- Temperature
- 22–26 °C
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- Care level
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- Adult size
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- Minimum tank
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- Temperature
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Metynnis lippincottianus
- Care level
- Advanced
- Adult size
- 13 cm
- Minimum tank
- 217 litres
- Temperature
- 23–27 °C