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Breeding / Egg scatterers
Spotted silver dollar
Egg scatterers · Easy

Breeding the spotted silver dollar

No reports of breeding in the hobby; presumed to be an egg scatterer like M. argenteus.

Full species page

Step by step

Pairing

Needs a school of 6+ in a large tank; ripe females swell with eggs.

Breeding tank

Very large tank or pond with floating plants or mops, soft slightly acidic water and warm temperatures.

What starts it

Rainy-season style water changes with soft, slightly cooler water and plenty of greens and protein.

Eggs and young

500-1,500 eggs

Raising the fry

Fry take powdered food and brine shrimp nauplii, then chopped greens; grow fast and need space.

Common mistakes
  • Tank too small
  • Keeping too few fish
  • No cover for the eggs
Setup blueprint

Home setup

One breeding tank for the spotted silver dollar, drawn to scale from the breeding guide.

100 cm long · 45 cm deep50 cm12354
  1. 1
    Breeding tank: 217 L · about 100 × 45 × 50 cm, the guide gives no size, so this is the smallest tank for this species
  2. 2
    Sponge filter and air pump · gentle and safe for eggs and fry
  3. 3
    Heater, 23–27 °C · this species' normal range
  4. 4
    Spawning mop · named in the guide
  5. 5
    Floating plants · named in the guide

Water: 23–27 °C · pH 6–7 · soft water

A plan from the breeding guide and an adult size of 16.4 cm. Tank shape is a standard 2 : 1 : 1.2 box, at least 6 adult lengths long. Check each step in the guide above.

Setup blueprint

Business setup

A 125 cm rack for breeding the spotted silver dollar in numbers.

12234125 cm rack, 3 shelves
  1. 1
    1 breeding tank, 217 L · about 100 × 45 × 50 cm, set up like the home tank
  2. 2
    2 grow-out tanks, 434 L each · about 115 × 55 × 70 cm; twice the breeding tank, never smaller than this species' smallest tank
  3. 3
    Shared air pump and air line · one line along each shelf feeds a sponge filter in every tank
  4. 4
    Heat the room or each tank · 23–27 °C

In total: 3 tanks, about 1,085 L of water. A litre of water weighs about 1 kg, so check that the floor and rack can take the weight.

Sizes are worked out from the breeding tank in the guide. Tanks fit a standard 120 cm rack when they can; bigger tanks go on their own stands.

Male or female

Males have a longer anal fin, which may show a red tinge.

Can I breed it in my tank?

  • Use a separate small tank with a sponge filter and spawning mops, so the eggs aren't eaten.
  • Good for a first breeding project.

Day-by-day plan

Typical for egg scatterers

  1. 14 days beforeCondition the parents

    Feed live or frozen food twice a day. Keep males and females apart if you can.

  2. Day 0Spawning

    Eggs are scattered over mops or fine plants, often at first light. Remove the parents straight after.

  3. Day 1Eggs hatch

    Most eggs hatch in 1–2 days. Keep the tank dim and remove white (fungused) eggs.

  4. Day 4Free swimming, first food

    Fry use up the yolk and start swimming. Feed infusoria or liquid fry food several times a day.

  5. Day 8Baby brine shrimp

    Switch to newly hatched brine shrimp or microworms. Start small, daily water changes.

  6. Day 21Crushed flake

    Add finely crushed flake. Sort fry by size so the big ones don't eat the small ones.

  7. Day 60Ready to move

    Most small fish reach about 2 cm in 2–3 months and can join the main tank.

A general guide for this breeding type. Days change with temperature and species.

Simulator: guided

Stage 1 of 7Condition the parents

Feed live or frozen food twice a day. Keep males and females apart if you can.

Simulator: try it yourself

Set up a virtual breeding tank and see what would likely happen.

No spawning
  • Without live or frozen food the parents aren't in breeding condition.

An educational estimate from the breeding rules, not a promise.