Satanoperca ID

[David R]

Picked this one up at the LFS yesterday labelled as "jurupari", which usually means leucosticta here, but the black spots have got me wondering. Has reddish on the lower half of the tail and the anal fin which hasn't really come through in the pictures.
Thoughts?

 

[danotaylor]

Looks more like a juvenile daemon to me

 

[David R]

That's what I thought too, fingers crossed!!

 

[neutrino]

Easy Id on that one. It's a (black) spotted (daemon group) vs unspotted (jurupari group) Satanoperca and 3 spots = daemon (2 = lilith, 4 = acuticeps). They turn into nice fish, though sensitive to water conditions.

 

[David R]

Excellent! Thanks for the good info, glad they're easily distinguished.

 

[David R]

neutrino when you say "sensitive to water conditions" are you meaning poor quality water or the chemistry/parameters? I have no problem supplying soft water as my house is supplied with rain water (TDS <10ppm) and I reminerslise it for the fish.

 

[neutrino]

neutrino when you say "sensitive to water conditions" are you meaning poor quality water or the chemistry/parameters? I have no problem supplying soft water as my house is supplied with rain water (TDS <10ppm) and I reminerslise it for the fish.

Both. Basically, the spotted Satanoperca are the fussier ones to keep. They need clean water and do best in warm, soft, acidic water, similar to (what appears to be) the B. cupido and cardinal tetras you have. Also small foods for their size. It's worth doing a bit of research, they're reasonably robust fish in the right conditions, but can otherwise be susceptible to bloat or (what most people call) HITH. A couple of expert articles below:

Breeding Cichlids | Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine

www.tfhmagazine.com

Satanoperca daemon

Keeping & Breeding Satanoperca daemon (Heckel 1840) by Lee Newman Introduction Satanoperca daemon Over the last fourteen years I've had occasion to keep S. daemon on three separate occasions. The first time, I had maintained six fish for about three years during which they spawned a number...

www.cichlid-forum.com

 

[danotaylor]

"Little time bombs"...yikes...you may have been better off with jurupari

The second article is a gold mine of excellent info with tons of relevant information that ultimately lead to successful growing, spawning & rearing juvies. I hope you are able to glean all you need to have a successful & stress free experience with these guys mate. All the best!

 

[David R]

Great reading, thank you! It sounds like I should be able to provide the right kind of conditions for it, I've kept Eartheaters for 20 ish years but we have very limited species in my neck of the woods. A Blackwater tank with these guys, Uaru f. and Altum angels has always been a dream of mine, so I'm pretty stoked to be able to get my hands on two of the three species!

 

[neutrino]

Great reading, thank you! It sounds like I should be able to provide the right kind of conditions for it, I've kept Eartheaters for 20 ish years but we have very limited species in my neck of the woods. A Blackwater tank with these guys, Uaru f. and Altum angels has always been a dream of mine, so I'm pretty stoked to be able to get my hands on two of the three species!

I'd keep them in a heartbeat, but it's been years since I've done blackwater tanks-- haven't done Tanganyika tanks for about10 years, either, though I'd also love to have some featherfins and Benthochromis. But at least for now I'm going easy on myself and doing what fits my 7.4 pH well water without having to touch it-- geos, Heros species, wild scalare, the occasional Aequidens and Guianacara, etc..