# Silver Dollars with Aquatic Plants



## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

I have a 30 gallon tank set up with a bunch of plants in it. I'm planning on getting a lot more plants to make it pretty dense in there but I was also thinking about getting a Silver Dollar for the tank as well. I have read certain things that say the Silver Dollar will eat the plant stalks and leaves if I keep him in there. Is it safe to put him in there with my live plants or should I just try a different fish? Thanks in advance.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Silver dollars will gobble up your plants like a big salad.


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

Lol thanks for your help. I'll look for another fish then. But I do have another question. I bought some Home Improvement sand from Home Depot and washed it very throuoghly. Will the live plants thrive in this? Or should I use gravel for the plants instead.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2005)

silver dollars also get too big for a 30 gallon and need to be in schools.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2005)

the substrate depends on the plant. easier to care for plants will be okay in sand, but others may need a fertilized substrate.


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## fishn00b (Jun 10, 2005)

All of the plants I have I used in my 29 gallon with just a gravel bottom. I don't have any fertilized substrate in there but from time to time i add a capful of fertilizer. I have anarchis, two banana plants, moneywort, water wisteria, java fern, and some of those plant bulbs I bought at Walmart.


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

fishn00b said:


> Lol thanks for your help. I'll look for another fish then. But I do have another question. I bought some Home Improvement sand from Home Depot and washed it very throuoghly. Will the live plants thrive in this? Or should I use gravel for the plants instead.


Sand is better than ordinary gravel, as it has more surface area for the rootlets to cling to. But it has no nutrients so you may have to fertilize alot to get things to grow nicely (how much ferts you need depends on how demanding the plants are). 

Substrates with fertilizer, such as commercial ones like Eco-complete or Onyx Sand, or laterite or Flourite under sand, or (my favorite because it's so cheap) soil + gravel, are better as the substrate contains nutrients on its own, so you need to fertilize less (or even not at all, depending on what you want to grow).


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