Lilith demonfish

Satanoperca lilith

Also known as Red spot demonfish, Lilith eartheater

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 77–84°F (25–29°C)
pH: 4.8–6.5
Adult size: 11.8 in (30 cm)
Minimum tank: 159 gal (600 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Rio Negro and Madeira blackwaters
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

The largest of the demon eartheaters, a calm, stately fish for a big soft-water tank. Despite the name it is peaceful and social, and it genuinely needs company of its own kind, so keep a group of four or more and let them establish a gentle hierarchy. It works the bottom, taking mouthfuls of sand and filtering out edible bits. Peaceful tankmates of similar size suit it. Feed sinking foods and frozen invertebrates it can sift. A group of these large fish needs a roomy tank of around 600 liters or more with a big open floor.

In the wild

Satanoperca lilith sifts sand in the blackwater rivers of the Rio Negro and Madeira, where the water is soft, acidic and stained brown with tannins. Give it a deep bed of soft sand, which it must have to feed naturally, along with driftwood, leaf litter and a dim, tea-colored look. Keep it warm at 25 to 29 C and hold the pH low, between about 4.8 and 6.5, in soft water with steady, gentle filtration.

Good to know

This is a South American eartheater in the family Cichlidae, reaching about 30 centimeters, the giant of its line. It is a mouthbrooder that picks up its eggs to protect them, and it breeds at medium difficulty. The genus name Satanoperca means devil perch, coined long ago for a relative, and Kullander and Ferreira added the species name lilith when they described this fish in 1988. A single dark shoulder spot marks its silvery flank.

Did you know

The names promise a monster and deliver a gentle one. Satanoperca means devil perch and lilith recalls a figure of midnight legend, yet the fish itself is one of the calmest sand-sifters in the hobby, spending its days quietly combing the bottom.

Tank mates

Lilith demonfish is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.