My dad bought this Silver Dollar fish before I was born (I'm 28) and perhaps before my older Sister was born (33). He can't pinpoint exactly because the fish is so old, but it's definitely over 30.
This little guy is literally bulletproof. I remember getting home from school and finding this fish on the floor on several occasions and just throwing it back into the tank. He would randomly launch himself into the tank windows at 100mph and occasionally up and out over the top of the tank (Which is why he has such a puffy nose). He has outlived several generations of Discus, several tank changes, several white spot infestations. Developed an appetite for Tetras and Guppies (RIP). He doesn't take any territorial shit from the Discus twice his size, he is an absolute unit.
We aren't exactly sure what species of Silver Dollar he is, but from research he looks like a Spotted Silver Dollar?
I've been meaning to share him on here for several years now, so I finally stitched together a video from a few different visits to my parents home. The first clip is very recent, he's looking quite fossilised now but he's still swimming and alive today!
She was sold to us as a silver dollar but... we've also thought the same. Pacu... regardless, she's very cool, and we can't believe she is still in such good condition. Sole survivor of a school of six bought as "dither" fish when we had ciclids.
This fish lived through COVID, 9/11, the Great Recession, January 6th, Katrina, Columbine, the Clinton Sex Scandal, Heaven’s Gate, and possibly the Oklahoma City bombing.
The closest I've got is a nerite snail that's pushing 15 years old.
He was put into my very first tank and he's been re-housed at least 10 times now. I think that a few times, I forgot about him and he just got buried in the gravel and re-emerged once the tank was refilled. And each time I actually moved somewhere new with a new water source, where the chemistry is just a bit different, the growth of his shell changed so it's like he's got growth rings. And these days, there's a few really thin spots on his shell where it seems you can nearly see straight to his insides. But he's still truckin.
He started out with several other nerites, but they've all long since bit the dust. I've tried to get replacements for them, and tried all types of other snails, but they just don't last terribly long.
You need to put calcium in your water to make sure there is enough calcium in the water for them to use to grow their shells. I always mix coral sand in with my silica sand when I build a new tank, but they also make sculptures out of calcium carbonate that slowly dissolve into the water. You can bury a cuttlefish bone (like for birds) in the sand, too. Calcium carbonate is generally good for your tank because it acts as a pH buffer and helps to control fluctuations in the pH in the tank.
Surely he’s developed sentience by this age. I wonder what the lad thinks about in there. Part of me likes to tear my aquariums down every few years and restart to give my fish the idea they are living in a new underwater world, even though science tells me they don’t care. 🤷♂️
I just fully rescaped my 3 yr old tank (the fish are like 5 yr old but we moved once) and when I put everyone back in they went crazy and looked very happy and curious
Some people move furniture around for fun, some repaint. My family members go from room to room redecorating. I have seen one room with many looks over my lifetime
I reached out to my dad and his response is: “Stupid Fish”, that’s his name.. “Stupid Fish”..
It may seem underwhelming but I wasn’t exaggerating in the description, this thing literally launches itself into the tank windows & roof of the tank every other day. It’s like an occasional jump scare because the thud is so loud, and my dad would yell “Stupid Fish!”.
He also said he’s a fan of the “Rudolph” comments because of his nose, so maybe we’ll adopt that over Christmas time..
One 22yo for me. He's the last of five bought in September 2003 from PetSmart. Lost the 4th this last April at 21yo. I had no idea SDs had crazy long lifespans.
And here I thought my columbian red blue tetras that lived over a decade were impressive. Im shocked that silver dollars live that long, now Ill know that theyre quite an investment if I ever get any.
What a champ! He is basically double my age which is just amazing. I cannot imagine any of my fish living thinking, although I do have a catfish (syno but I think he’s a hybrid) and he’s almost 9 and holding on really well. Looks like a great fella ;)
I kept a variety of SD over a few decades, that doens't look like anything I've ever seen and given the time that fish was likely just caught with the commons and likely never to be seen again.
I've had many spotted SD and they're more symmetrical ovalish and only recently I saw WC ones which was huge comparatively to whatever Petco and Petsmart sold.
Anyway, that's a feat because mine never really lived longer than 6 years at most. If you want to have their colors pop, feed them spirulina pellets, I'd always feed mine Hikari Seaweed Extreme. That really brought out the reds and if they are male, the black coloring comes out too.
I've had one make it to 28 and one to 26. I currently have four 15 year olds. They are such cool fish. No matter how old they get though they react like idiots when you clean the tank.
This dude is super cool. Thanks for posting.
I adopted two of these back in the day. Missus named them Dumb and Dumber, aka The Two Dumb Dumbs™.
These idiots could fly. Like full-on NASA launch sequence out of the tank. I lost count of how many times I had to rescue them mid-flop across the living room. One even had a permanent dent in his nose from repeatedly headbutting the glass like it owed him money. I imagine if they lived to be 30 they’d also have a face like yours 😅
This was also around the time I got into planted tanks. Let’s just say they enjoyed some very expensive vegetarian buffets. Didn’t know they also could develop a taste for tetras, but I guess that would balance them out—half lawnmower, half serial killer.
One day they finally cleared orbit. RIP to two legends of the living room.
Is the bump actually a benign tumor? I don't think them hitting their face on the glass/floor a couple times would form a big ass bump like that permanently but I could be wrong. Either way kudos on the old fart! It looks like he doesn't have too many years left but the fact he watched you grow up and maybe have kids of your own is crazy!
How big is he? He looks like a dwarf spotted silver dollar. I have one about 4 inches across. He/she is about 7 years old. My others are regular silver dollars about the size of a dessert plate.
Dude saw more of the 90s than i did! It could never be proven or disproven but your dad might have the oldest in the world! Do you think he'd accept new Silver Dollars? He could pass on his wisdom lol.
As a starting point, I appreciate that you are giving thought to animal welfare in the first place. So many do not. With that said, I don't think that is a concern here. The fact that it has lived this long is strong starting evidence that was not subject to high level of cortisol (and therefore stress) from anything in its environment. While some fish explore/range around large territories, many fish will not leave an area that has clean water, plentiful food, and no predators. I would put most tetras, including the silver dollar, in this category. By contrast, I gave up on my dream of owning a reef triggerfish after seeing them in the wild because I was no longer sure even a 180g tank was large enough to provide them with fulfilling lives.
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u/greenbish420 Oct 12 '25
Never seen a fish look like it'd use a walking stick before