Demon Eartheater
Satanoperca jurupari
Cichlidae
About
The demon eartheater is a peaceful, sand-sifting cichlid from the Amazon basin of northern South America, ranging from Peru and Colombia to the river's mouth in Brazil. Despite its ominous name it is gentle for its size, spending the day taking mouthfuls of fine sand and filtering out edible morsels through its gills. It is a gregarious, shoaling fish that forms a loose dominance hierarchy and is best kept in a group over a soft sand bed in a spacious, well-filtered tank.
Care
Keep a group of 5 or more in a large tank (450 L+) with a deep bed of fine, soft sand for natural foraging. Provide warm, soft, slightly acidic to neutral water with good filtration and gentle flow. Peaceful with most tankmates but becomes protective when breeding.
Diet
Omnivorous sand-sifter that forages on small invertebrates, larvae and detritus. Feed sinking granules and pellets alongside frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp and daphnia, always over fine sand it can sift.
Tankmate compatibility
Avoid (121)
Computed by the AquaSage engine for a spacious reference tank — always check the full verdict for your exact setup in the calculator.