More Silver Dollars! My silver dollars spawned again! I didn't have them in a tank setup for this, I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time to protect the eggs from swordtails with a net and managed to siphon out about ten of them. I don't have another empty tank so I'm attempting to hatch them in a hanging net within the tank the parents are in, and I figure that since the water parameters were good enough for them to spawn, I will touch nothing. <Good idea> The eggs are still currently clear a couple of hours later with a spot in them. My question is: what color will they turn, and how long should it take them to hatch?   <Should remain clear except for the growing juvenile, their eyes... about four days to hatching in the low 80's F... you should be culturing food for them NOW... read about this on the Net... "Rotifer Culture"> -the Pacu kid. (am I just good at keeping the water nice? Or did I just get lucky? I never really do tests on water parameters, I just watch the fish and go with the feel. <Given passable circumstances almost all life will reproduce itself... a high priority eh? Bob Fenner>

Silver Dollars - Determining Their Sex Hi Guys - I am getting back into the aquarium hobby after a 10 year hiatus.  This time around, I am interested in the possibility of breeding. <Hey, this isn't a dating service... Oh, you mean fishes... sorry>   I have three small Silver Dollars (smaller than a quarter).   I have the round, all silver variety that has no spots on them. They all seem to have red on their anal fin.  I went back to the store and the other eight in their tank also had red on their anal fin.  I have read that this is how to determine if they are male or female. <Mmm, nope. There are just some species of "dollars" that have red anal fins... in good health, care>   Are all of these males or is there a different way to determine if I have a female in the group of three that I have? <Really only with time, size/growth... and apparent "fullness" of the females... very likely you have both sexes...> I know that I have to wait until they grow up to mate but I would like to possibly determine their sex now rather than having to by an adult female in the future.  Thanks for any assistance.  Mike <Mmm, please see WWM, the Net... re Metynnis, Mylossoma...  species. Bob Fenner>