Metynnis lippincottianus is occasionally seen for sale, sometimes under the name of "Silver Dollar". It is easily distinguishable from m. argenteus and m. hypsauchen (which are more commonly sold as Silver Dollars) by its spotted pattern, hence the common name. M. lippincottianus shares a common name with m. maculatus but the two can be distinguished as the spots on m. maculatus are more pronounced.

Silver dollars are common and popular fish in the hobby. They are related to piranh…

It was initially going to be described as Hyphessobrycon cardinalis by Myers and Weitzman (1956) but just before this was due to be published Schultz presented an alternative description in the hobbyist magazine ‘Tropical Fish Hobbyist’ and named the fish after the publication’s founder, Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod.

A significant proportion of the fish available in the aquarium trade are still wild caught or derive from community-led breeding projects such as Project Piaba in the middle Negro region, where this sp…

One of the most popular and instantly recognisable fishes in the aquarium hobby, this species has been selectively-bred to produce a number of additional strains including albino, ‘golden’ (leucistic), short-bodied, long-finned and ‘diamond’ (in which the dorsal surface is covered in reflective scales).

Unfortunately years of commercial breeding have somewhat affected the genetic vigour of the ornamental strain meaning morphological defects an…