14 Interesting Facts You Should Know About Silver Dollar

                    Kingdom : Animalia
                           Class : Actinopterygii
                        Family : Characidae
         Scientific Name : Metynnis Argenteus

                       Size(L) : 5cm - 14cm 
                                        (2in - 5.5in)
               Water Type : Fresh
 Optimum pH Level : 5 - 7
                  Life Span : 2 - 10 years

                      Colour : Silver, Grey
                 Skin Type : Scales
Distinctive Features : Disk-like body and 
                                      short fins

1. Silver Dollars are medium sized fish found in South American rivers.
2. Distinctively, they have a disk-like rounded body which is silver in color.
3. They get their name from their distinctive appearance.
4. They are known to inhabit the well-vegetated parts and weeds of the slow -moving rivers.
5. They have their origin in the 12,000-mile-long Brazilian river basin called the Tapajas River Basin.
6. They are an extremely popular choice as aquarium fish all around the world.
7. It is always better to keep them with larger fish like Oscars and catfish, rather than keeping them with smaller fish.
8. They are closely related to the Piranhas and are known to have their bullying instincts.
9. Though not as aggressive and ferocious as Piranhas, they display dominant aggressive behavior towards smaller fish.
10. They are quite sociable and can be found in shoals, trying to intimidate their predators or trying to catch a big prey.
11. They are omnivores, feeding primarily on aquatic plants and grass and occasionally on insects, spiders, worms and small invertebrates.
12. Their natural predators are large fish, reptiles and birds.
13. They breed in warm water where there isn’t much light and the female silver dollar spawns around 2,000 eggs.
14. On an average, they live to be around 2-10 years old.