Silver dollars are a schooling fish by nature and do best when kept in schools of six or more. A very peaceful shoaling species, they do not do well on their own, but even a large group will be skittish and timid when left without shelter.

They are peaceful enough to be trusted with much smaller fish than themselves, and yet they are robust enough to handle the company of much larger species. Peaceful large catfish such as plecos and doradids would be a good choice, as would many non-aggressive cichlids.