# sliver dollar tank mates



## hayleyjane97 (Jun 5, 2016)

currently have a school of 5 silver dollars and was wondering what would be a good tank mate for them in the long run, they are currently in a grow out tank but will soon be housing a 500ltr and was wondering what i could house with them, i thought about gouramis, parrot fish etc


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

hayleyjane97 said:


> currently have a school of 5 silver dollars and was wondering what would be a good tank mate for them in the long run, they are currently in a grow out tank but will soon be housing a 500ltr and was wondering what i could house with them, i thought about gouramis, parrot fish etc


Festivums, angelfish, gouramies, catfish of many types, ropefish, dwarf snakeheads, black ghost knifefish, rainbowfish of many types. Please don't get parrotfish, they are hybrid monstrosities that can turn nasty due to the Red Devil genes they have in them.


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## Zincubus (Sep 6, 2010)

Silver sharks maybe , Wilks ??


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

Zincubus said:


> Silver sharks maybe , Wilks ??
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Certainly a possibility.: victory:


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## hayleyjane97 (Jun 5, 2016)

yeah i was thinking the same about gouramis they can become quite territorial, i currently housed some clown loaches with them but because the dollars were very aggressive feeders i didnt think the clown loaches were a good match so moved them, maybe the same for black ghost knifes


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

hayleyjane97 said:


> yeah i was thinking the same about gouramis they can become quite territorial, i currently housed some clown loaches with them but because the dollars were very aggressive feeders i didnt think the clown loaches were a good match so moved them, maybe the same for black ghost knifes


I have a black ghost in with a pair of dollars in a smaller tank than yours, & he's fine. Clown loaches should be, too- they will eat algae wafers that are too big for the dollars.


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## hayleyjane97 (Jun 5, 2016)

wilkinss77 said:


> I have a black ghost in with a pair of dollars in a smaller tank than yours, & he's fine. Clown loaches should be, too- they will eat algae wafers that are too big for the dollars.


might have to give black ghosts a try, and yes i know the clown loaches would probs been okay just every different food i tried from bottom feedes the dollars destroyed within seconds


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

hayleyjane97 said:


> might have to give black ghosts a try, and yes i know the clown loaches would probs been okay just every different food i tried from bottom feedes the dollars destroyed within seconds


With ghosts you have 2 choices- one or several. If you try to keep 2, they'll fight & one will kill the other or harass it to death. Most keepers settle for just one.


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## Zincubus (Sep 6, 2010)

Zincubus said:


> Silver sharks maybe , Wilks ??
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk















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## hayleyjane97 (Jun 5, 2016)

i added 2 dwarf gouramis last night from my community tank and they seemed to hold their own at feediing time this morning


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## Zincubus (Sep 6, 2010)

hayleyjane97 said:


> i added 2 dwarf gouramis last night from my community tank and they seemed to hold their own at feediing time this morning


Pair or two males ?


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## Zincubus (Sep 6, 2010)

I'd actually consider adding some more Silver Dollars if there's enough space .... they look amazing the more there are ...


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

hayleyjane97 said:


> i added 2 dwarf gouramis last night from my community tank and they seemed to hold their own at feediing time this morning


Do keep an eye on the gouramis if they're both males though, as they might fight once established- they used to be sold as pairs, but lately most shops only sell males.


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## hayleyjane97 (Jun 5, 2016)

no they are a pair male and female so should be okay, yeah i suppose more dollars is always an option, maybe some sort of freshwater eel


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

hayleyjane97 said:


> no they are a pair male and female so should be okay, yeah i suppose more dollars is always an option, maybe some sort of freshwater eel


Ropefish/Reedfish are pretty amazing- they look & behave like underwater snakes! They even have scales like snakes, called ganoid scales. & they're sexable- the male has a wide, yellow anal fin, while the female has a small olive green one. Ropefish are olive green with black pectoral fins & an orange underside. & they don't fight, & eat anything- including sinking flakes. You'll need a tight lid on the tank though- otherwise they'll climb out.


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

Zincubus said:


> I'd actually consider adding some more Silver Dollars if there's enough space .... they look amazing the more there are ...


They're actually a species of herbivorous piranha, aren't they? & they're just as savage to plants as carnivorous piranha are toward animals.:gasp:


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## hayleyjane97 (Jun 5, 2016)

wilkinss77 said:


> They're actually a species of herbivorous piranha, aren't they? & they're just as savage to plants as carnivorous piranha are toward animals.:gasp:


i had a few live plants in the tank when i first got them, turns out this was a mistake probably took them 24 hours to demolish them all :2thumb:


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## Zincubus (Sep 6, 2010)

wilkinss77 said:


> Ropefish/Reedfish are pretty amazing- they look & behave like underwater snakes! They even have scales like snakes, called ganoid scales. & they're sexable- the male has a wide, yellow anal fin, while the female has a small olive green one. Ropefish are olive green with black pectoral fins & an orange underside. & they don't fight, & eat anything- including sinking flakes. You'll need a tight lid on the tank though- otherwise they'll climb out.




Nice idea !!

Got me thinking for myself ( and granddaughter). 

I've had a couple over the years , as cute as hell and so interesting .




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## Zincubus (Sep 6, 2010)

Got my baby Reed- fish / Rope-fish today 

Just about 6" long and simply beautiful . 


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

Zincubus said:


> Got my baby Reed- fish / Rope-fish today
> 
> Just about 6" long and simply beautiful .
> 
> ...


You know, I've never seen them that small? They're usually 10" or more.


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## FishForLife2001 (Sep 23, 2014)

Zincubus said:


> Got my baby Reed- fish / Rope-fish today
> 
> Just about 6" long and simply beautiful .
> 
> ...


Pics or it didn't happen Zincubus 

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## Zincubus (Sep 6, 2010)

FishForLife2001 said:


> Pics or it didn't happen Zincubus
> 
> Sent from my 9001X using Tapatalk












Plus his tank mate


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## Zincubus (Sep 6, 2010)

They seem to have developed a strange relationship as they sleep / stay in the same bottom corner most of the time .

Oddly enough a few years ago I had a decent sized Red Tail Black shark who dominated all the other fish apart from one equal sized Clown Loach . They used to swim around the huge tank side by side occasionally taking it in turns to lead.


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## FishForLife2001 (Sep 23, 2014)

Very cool!

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## Zincubus (Sep 6, 2010)

FishForLife2001 said:


> Very cool!
> 
> Sent from my 9001X using Tapatalk




It really is 

Funny thing is I had one of these Reed fish about 50 years ago !!


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