# Silver dollars eating my plants!



## cale10

hey guys. new here, but, for Christmas i got a new 45 gallon tank for Christmas and has been going since. last week or so, i got 3 silver dollar fish. i had wanted them for the longest of time and i was happy to actually get them. after a few days i noticed they were not eating anything. no flakes or anything. (at the time i knew they are mostly herbivorous) i was scared and confused at first. then a few more days past, and i realized why they were not eating the flakes... they were eating my plants! one plant is almost completely bare now and i really dont want my plants to die because i was looking forward to a semi planted tank. so when i realized what was happening, a got the closest thing i could find to plants to feed my silvers, Tetra Veggie. (just google tetra veggie if youre not sure which food it is)

(i actually got the wafers, its all they had at the time) was more or less a "quick" solution to save my plants. the dollars seem to be eating it, but not immediately. hopefully soon i can buy the flake version. hopefully that will help. maybe?

so what is your opinions on what i should do to prevent my dollars from eating my plants? and what should i use to save my plants?


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## susankat

The only way to keep silver dollars from eating plants is to have plastic plants. Also get a veggie based flake for them.


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## brads

Agree with susankat. Plastic plants and veggie food of some sort. You can hang raw veggies in the tank for them. Cucumber, zucchini, etc. Get a veggie clip and hang a piece for a few hours, then throw it away. If they eat it, great. If they don't, they don't like it. Try something different. But no matter what, if you have live plants they're gonna eat them to some degree. You can also try some hardier plants. Ask your LFS about some that might be more resistant to being eaten or maybe the fish just won't like them as much. You'll have to experiment.


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## April R

Try amazon sword and Java moss.


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## Botiadancer

Complaining about Silver Dollars eating your plants is like complaining about a red tail catfish eating your mollies.

Plastic plants or maybe decorate with manzanita wood with a little java fern on it - or java moss.


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## cale10

i have 4 types of plants in my aquarium right now. umbrella plant, amazon sword, windelov java fern and anubias gongensis. the silvers seem to be feasting mostly on the umbrella plants and a few nibbles on the anubias. id like to keep plants because they are great for the tank, as you all know. but if i absolutely have to, i could get rid of some.


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## SueD

I've had good luck with a large anubias. The SD's took one bite of a new leaf and never went back for more. I've also had success with crinums - natans and calamistratum - and onion plant. 

If going artificial, silk plants are a little nicer than plastic. I have lots of those right now with my sd's along with the anubias.


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## joecrouse

SueD, Saw Onion Plant for 6.50 at my Local Fish store.. That seems awful high price for a meh looking low light plant Can you tell me more about it and have you had any luck with it experience ect... you are the first person ive ever seen online who has any so i am curious.


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## SueD

joecrouse said:


> SueD, Saw Onion Plant for 6.50 at my Local Fish store.. That seems awful high price for a meh looking low light plant Can you tell me more about it and have you had any luck with it experience ect... you are the first person ive ever seen online who has any so i am curious.


It's been a few years since I had it. I ended up tearing that tank down (26g bow) and upgrading to a 40b, since it had become infested with MTS. So I tossed all the plants except the large anubias. But from what I remember, it grew well with no ferts, and was just planted in regular gravel. But it grew extremely tall (long), with the long thin leaves floating over the top. I wasn't sure if they could just be cropped. I seem to also remember that there weren't a lot of leaves, so not a full looking plant.


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## oldpunk

The "umbrella" was doomed anyway. It's a peace lily (a terrestrial plant). The silver dollars will eat pretty much all your plants.


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## cale10

all plants are mostly gone. im not happy at all. was never informed by the store, or most sites regarding SD info that they would eat plants. now im out 30$ in plants and one of the main things i wanted to do was keep the tank planted. looks beautiful and helps with the nitrogen cycle. but i guess the SD's have ruined that option. i like the SD's. it just sucks that my dreams of a planted tank are gone. im still in the 14 day guarantee and could technically take them back. but id hate to do that. its just not right. not happy right now


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## brads

I know how you feel. I've had the same experience myself. All you can do is remember, fish are fish. They're just doing what comes natural. They like plants the same way people like a good salad. Sorry to hear about your plants though.


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## kalyke

cale10 said:


> all plants are mostly gone. im not happy at all. was never informed by the store, or most sites regarding SD info that they would eat plants. now im out 30$ in plants and one of the main things i wanted to do was keep the tank planted. looks beautiful and helps with the nitrogen cycle. but i guess the SD's have ruined that option. i like the SD's. it just sucks that my dreams of a planted tank are gone. im still in the 14 day guarantee and could technically take them back. but id hate to do that. its just not right. not happy right now


Nearly every article on the care of silver dollers that I have ever read says they are herbiverous, and also that they will eat every plant in your aquarium. Most photos or videos of silver dollers shows them in a tank filled with stones and driftwood and no plants. I think a 40 is too small for sds too. They get huge and you need at least 6 of them. 

I wanted them too, but I crossed them off my list because I wanted a planted tank. My conclusion was that I couldn't have both. In the end, I got black and white skirt tetras, which stay smaller and don't bother plants. 

If you are going to blame the fish for being who they are, you should get a refund. Platinum angles, or blue angles might be a better fit. I think they like planted tanks.


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## cale10

ok next question. are there any real disadvantages of not having plants in an aquarium of this size? 45 gallon tall. i could take the silvers back, im sure they dont get live returns often. but i may.


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## Gizmo

No real disadvantages, your biological filtration capacity will be less, but with a properly rated filter you don't have to worry. And you'll have to start vacuuming the gravel, if you haven't been already. With live plants, you shouldn't vacuum the gravel as it disturbs their root systems.


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## navigator black

The disadvantage is how it looks. I like plants.

I like silver dollars too, but they aren't 'one' fish. It's a trade name for a few species, and some get pretty big. Some get too big for a 45, by a lot. If you can return them, I would consider it. It's a nice fish, but it will tie your hands as far as choices, and then may outgrow your tank.


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## susankat

I seen a pair of silver dollars that was too big for a 150 gal tank. Most get huge and once they grow they are harder to get rid of.


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## kalyke

Its too bad there's nothing like an invisible fence for fish. All I can think of is a acrylic panel. I know I have similar problems with my loaches. Some plants to them are free lunch, others they won't touch. I've got in in my mind now to have a separate loach tank and a planted tank with just glass cats and cherry shrimp.


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## SueD

You can make the tank look really nice with driftwood and silk plants. SD's can be skittish and like to hide. This tank had just been set up so was still a little cloudy


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