# Mbuna and Silver Dollars in the same tank?



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

So I got t my office today and "SURPRISE SURPRISE!!!" I see this...

Two big A$$ silver dollars in my aquarium.

























And one small pleco.









I have had some before and I know they are the "piranhas of the plant world" but I have never had them in the same tank with mbuna. Should I be concerned about these two silver dollars? Will tey eventually get beaten up by my mbunas?


----------



## John Baird (Oct 10, 2009)

I have my mbunas and my silverdollars in the same tank and they do fine but i am also wondering how long this might last.


----------



## MetalCowgirl34 (Sep 28, 2009)

The bank I go to has silver dollars (pretty big ones) in with some labs and some other yellow mbuna (I'm assuming females of something and they were not told they were different species at the pet store). They seem to get along fine to me.


----------



## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

They will get along fine...as long as the silver dollars have room to evade the mbunas. In other words, the tank can't be set up with overstocking the cichlids and filled to the top with rocks---a typical mbuna setup.


----------



## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

I think those are Red Hook Metynnis.

The Mbuna will mostly ignore them, especially since the Metynnis are larger, and they will get larger still. Would be good dither fish, and the only concern along with the generic Pleco, would be how much bio load they take up eventually. I would think they will survive okay and grow, maybe get a third friend to make them feel more comfortable, as they are schooling fish.

Now if your tank was filled with many 6" aggressive Mbuna, the Metynnis may show some wear and tear. Silver Dollar type characins are quite hardy thou..


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

Hmmm...my dad says that he bought them at PETCO and that they were labeled as Silver Dollars but I googled Red Hook Metynnis and they do look like either Metynnis or Myleus.

I was thinking about getting another one but I really don't like them much and they are so big that they are the focus of the aquarium and I hate that but I don't want to hurt my dad's feelings and take them out.

Thanks for the input guys!!!


----------



## rarefaction (Aug 6, 2009)

Hey Mighty, Did you ever find out where they came from? opcorn:


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

rarefaction said:


> Hey Mighty, Did you ever find out where they came from? opcorn:


Yeah, my dad got them at PETCO and put them in the tank before I got the the office, but he knows nothing about fish keeping and he didn't ask if it was safe. Additionally, when he put them in he threw a handful of large floating pellets in the tank without turning the pumps off, most of the pellets went into the overflow and into the sump. I had to make a 40% water change and clean the sump :lol: . It was about time for a cleaning though so I wasn't too upset.


----------



## rarefaction (Aug 6, 2009)

I still would have pitched a fit...lol!
"Thanks for the quarantine Dad!" :lol:


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

rarefaction said:


> I still would have pitched a fit...lol!
> "Thanks for the quarantine Dad!" :lol:


 :lol:

I had to sit him down and explain... it was like talking to a little kid. Don't overfeed, feed a few pellets at a time, turn off the returns, don't feed for over three minutes...blah blah blah... :lol:

He got hurt and said he wasn't going to feed them anymore :roll:


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

You know what just struck me?!?!?

I am sure he didn't even acclimate them and just threw them in along with the PETCO water :x

Thank god I decided on the WC, I should of made a larger WC... PETCO fish always carry the nasty ICH 

I am going to have to ask him and give another lesson on Fish Keeping 101. :lol:


----------



## Williamleigh (Aug 20, 2009)

MetalCowgirl34 said:


> The bank I go to has silver dollars


lol don't they all


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

Well, I jinxed myself or something because when I got to the office yesterday I see the fish my dad bought (silver dollars or Metynnis or Myleus or whatever) and they have the nasty ICH...

:x "THANKS A LOT DAD!!!":x

Check it out, these things are infested and overrun...

























FRIGGIN PARASITES!!!


----------



## jammer600 (Sep 28, 2009)

itch being when they rub there selves against the rock's and twitch? how do you get rid or does it go naturally?


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

Yes, that is ich and usually you will see a lot of little white bubbles on the body of the fish like in the pictures above.

When you have very good water quality you can make it go away easily, frequent big water changes are the best method because it is the most natural way to do it without stressing the fish or other inhabitants. They also sell a diverse amount of chemicals to get rid of these parasites but there are side effects as with typical medication, some stain things in your aquarium and others can effect plants and or other living things in the aquarium but most are very effective.


----------



## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

mightyevil said:


> Yes, that is ich and usually you will see a lot of little white bubbles on the body of the fish like in the pictures above.
> 
> When you have very good water quality you can make it go away easily, frequent big water changes are the best method because it is the most natural way to do it without stressing the fish or other inhabitants. They also sell a diverse amount of chemicals to get rid of these parasites but there are side effects as with typical medication, some stain things in your aquarium and others can effect plants and or other living things in the aquarium but most are very effective.


Raising the temp into the lower 80s helps speed the exit of Ich. The Ich may not bother the cichlids, but those "Silver Dollars" may need some medicine since they are bothered by Ich much more. But then the characins are not that important to you anyway, so it may not worth adding the poisons ("medicines").


----------



## rarefaction (Aug 6, 2009)

Sorry to have brought it up, I'll open mouth and insert foot now...
Best of luck clearing it up quickly :roll:


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

rarefaction said:


> Sorry to have brought it up, I'll open mouth and insert foot now...
> Best of luck clearing it up quickly :roll:


 :lol: Not your fault.

It looks like the Ich is going away quickly and I have not done anything to help it yet...let's see how it goes in the next couple of days by themselves, if I notice a negative change I will intervene otherwise let it fix itself  .


----------



## jammer600 (Sep 28, 2009)

brilliant thanks for advice!!


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

I came in this morning and the Ich is about 99.9% off the silver dollars, I am probably going to vacuum the sand today to get rid of any Ich eggs that may be on the sand but I don't think I will have a problem with Ich.


----------



## rarefaction (Aug 6, 2009)

So what happened? opcorn:


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

rarefaction said:


> So what happened? opcorn:


Shortly after the ich came off of the silver dollars I noticed white spots on most of the cichlids. I raised the temp and added salt and two days later everything was back to normal. A couple of weeks later everyone seems to be doing just fine with no ich signs. I didn't even lose my fry except for two out of about 30.


----------



## rarefaction (Aug 6, 2009)

And everyone is getting along?!? Glad to hear it, thanks for the update...


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

Well, the silver dollars "characins" or whatever they are, are getting beat up...their fins are bit off here and there and are missing some scales on the sides but they look like they are still healthy. They are first to the top to eat and compete very well for their food. Once the cichlids get bigger though I don't think that they will last very long. :?


----------

