Silver metinnis - care and maintenance in the aquarium

Aquarium science is a very vast and interesting science in which everything is interconnected. If you want to make a beautiful, unpretentious, but large fish that gets along well with other types of fish - then you should look at the silver metinnis. The brilliant color of this amazing underwater creature found a nickname for him - a silver dollar. Indeed, a shining fish is very similar to a voiced metal coin. Moreover, some experts believe that silver metinnis will certainly bring financial prosperity to its owner. And if metinnis actively gives offspring, then true wealth certainly cannot be avoided. How to care for the currency with fish, what conditions to provide for metinnis, and most importantly, how to breed this wonderful creature, let's try to figure this article out.

Features of the appearance of silver metinnis

Metinnis belongs to the haracin family of piranha subfamilies. Fish was first scientifically described at the beginning of the 20th century, the natural habitat is South America, Brazil. Bright silverfish can be found in Paraguay, Amazon, Gayana. Silver dollar is found in densely overgrown tributaries, in those places where there is an abundance of plant food, although the fish will not refuse protein food.

The appearance of metinnis really resembles a coin - the body is almost round, without obvious elongations. Most often, the color is simply silver; under different lighting conditions, the scales may have a greenish or blue reflection. The margin of the anal fin is interspersed with red. Under certain living conditions, dark dots may appear on the sides of the metinnis. The silver dollar is considered a fairly large fish, its size reaches 15 cm, some individuals live 10 or more years. Experts believe that the best metinnis feel in small flocks of 6-8 individuals. However, large fish should be kept in large aquariums, not less than 300 liters. If you are a beginner aquarist, do not rush to buy a lot of fish, start in pairs. So you can look at the new inhabitants of the underwater world.

Silver Dollar Terms

To make the fish feel good, multiply and delight with the bright color of the owner of the aquarium, certain living conditions should be organized for it.

1. For such large fish you need to purchase large aquariums, for one pair you will need an artificial reservoir of at least 80 liters. Standard flocks for 6-8 individuals should be kept in an aquarium with a volume of 200-250 liters. If we are talking about common aquariums in which not only metinnis live, then these should be large volumes, at least 300 liters.
2. Metinnis are considered to be clean fish, which are sensitive to the state of water - its purity and oxygen saturation. In an aquarium with such inhabitants, there should be a powerful compressor and a good water filter. The presence of a lid is mandatory, otherwise the fish can easily jump out of the aquarium.
3. The optimum water temperature in the aquarium with metinnisis is 23-28 degrees, the water hardness is not more than 15 dH, the acidity is 6.5-7.0 pH. Change the water in the aquarium with metinnis should be quite often, merges a third of the total volume, and then add clean, settled water. Water changes should be carried out every week.
4. The choice of soil can be approached less reverently, since this has no particular effect on the living of metinnis. Fish spend almost all their time in the middle layers of the aquarium, rarely sinking to the bottom.But it’s better, nevertheless, to line the dark soil, it will perfectly shade the bright and light tones of the scales of the silver dollar.
5. Many aquarists when breeding silver metinnis face such a problem as the lack of vegetation. The fact is that the silver dollar for the most part eats plant foods, eats small and large plants with pleasure, leaving only bare stems. Fish eats plants, even if it is not hungry. To cope with the problem, it is necessary to plant vegetation with the most rigid leaves. In some cases, together with natural plants, it is necessary to plant decorative (artificial) plantings in the ground.
6. In addition to plants, the fish may need shelters - various grottoes, winding snags, rocky mounds. Silver metinnis is a rather timid fish that will often be scared and hidden.
7. Provide the silver dollar with diffuse and moderately bright lighting.
8. Metinnis get along well with other neighbors, despite the fact that they are distant relatives of piranha. However, in some cases, the silver dollar does not mind eating small fodder fish - guppies, neons. Best of all, the silver dollar cohabits with catfish and other species of fish, approximately the same in size.
9. Feeding methinnis does not cause much trouble, most of the diet is vegetable. Fish eats shredded vegetables with pleasure - spinach, zucchini, cabbage, cucumbers, salad. They should be grated first, then disinfected, scalded with boiling water, and only then thrown into the aquarium. Be sure to remove food debris after eating so that the water does not subsequently become cloudy. To diversify the diet, be sure to enter protein foods in the fish menu - bloodworms, coronet, artemia, and worms. But protein food should be no more than 20% of the total diet. If you have a large and common aquarium, in which there are many fish, make sure that the silver metinnis eats well - the temperament of the fish is rather timid and shy, the dollar may be left without food.
10. It is not difficult to breed methinnis, fish spawn well even in a common aquarium. You can distinguish a male from a female by the anal fin - in males it is longer and colored much brighter. Before spawning, the female becomes less flat, as her abdomen is filled with a large number of eggs. If you want to resettle the fish for the spawning period, it needs to provide ideal conditions - the water should be very soft and warm (26-30 degrees). For breeding silver metinnis, young individuals who are more than one year old are selected. Previously, a young couple is separated and actively fed with plant foods for 10 days. After this, the metinnis is transferred to a spawning ground, in which the bottom is lined with fine vegetation. At a time, the female can lay up to 1000 small transparent eggs. So that parents do not eat offspring, after spawning they are immediately resettled. The fry hatch after 4-5 days and begin to move independently, finding food for themselves.

Silver metinnis is considered unpretentious fish, the main condition for its normal life is a varied plant nutrition and sufficient purity of water.

If you have a large large-sized aquarium, a little time for a regular water change, be sure to buy and breed silver metinnis. These shy and shy fish shimmer with bright light, delighting the owner with an unusual color.

Video: aquarium fish silver metinnis