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I have had 3 Silver Dollars for 4 years. They are about 4+ inches long, 3+ inches wide. All have red on their anal fin and red tipps on their tail.

While going through the Profiles I notice that there are 2 relatives both with the same common name but different Scientific names:
Myleus rubripinnis
Metynnis hypsauchen.
Looking at the pictures I would say that I have the Metynnis hypsauchen species, but how can I be sure?
I notice in the description they have different size potentials. Other than that I am not sure what the difference is and how would I tell which type I have.

Red hooks usually have...well a red "hook" on their anal fins. The regular silver dollar does not. Other than that I'm not too sure how you tell them apart. But usually red hooks are sold as red hooks...not Silver Dollars. So if you bought them as Silver dollars, then they probably are just regular silver dollars, not red hooks.

Last edited by Tetra Fan at 14-Nov-2005 06:43

Yea and red hooks coan cost like 15 a peice where as silverdollars go for around 5.

but i herd silver dollers ruffly live a year or two

Nah, silver dollars can live a good while longer than that. We have some large red hooks at work which are at least six or seven years old, as they had been in a display tank for a long time.

Katana, if you are still unsure which species you have, you can post a picture here and someone will identify it.

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Silver Dollars commonly live about 10 years.
Around here, both red hooks and normal SD's are
almost always 7.99 each.


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Here is a pic of a Red Hook. Listed on this site as Myloplus rubripinnis.

The whole group is in severe need of taxonomic revision, as all manner of strange scientific names (many of them invalid) abound with the "Silver Dollar" and "Red Hook" group of disc-shaped Characoids. The situation is such that you cannot even rely upon the Genus being cited correctly with several species, and sooner or later, experts in the field will have to sort out the mess.

Most species reach around 6 inches in length, but be advised that there are some that will grow considerably bigger. As they are all shoaling fishes, this results in a heavy demand on aquarium space and filtration.

The other big point to remember with Silver Dollars and related fishes is that they are herbivores. They WILL eat aquarium plants, and so keeping them in a planted aquarium will simply provide them with an expensive lunch.

Other requirements are typically South American - they prefer soft, slightly acidic water if this can be obtained, peat filtration is considered beneficial by some authorities for them, and they tend to prefer temperatures around 24°C for maintenance. Spawning is unlikely in the typical home setup, as they need LOTS of space, and are probably gang spawners in the wild. Replicating their natural habitat AND doing so in such a manner that they are in good numbers, so that there is a chance of them spawning, will require a VERY large aquarium.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002