Satanoperca rhynchitis
Satanoperca rhynchitis is from the ancient Greek satan, meaning "satan" (devil) and perke, meaning "perch". Fish can be found in the reservoirs of South America, at shallow depths, in places where there is virtually no aquatic vegetation, and the entire bottom is covered with fallen leaves and snags.
In sexually mature males 4 and 5 rays of dorsal plumage have an elongated shape. Adult females have a rounded abdomen and a slightly smaller size than males. The maximum length of the fish is 13-14.5 cm.
Satanoperca rhynchitis in the fish is peaceful, showing aggression only during the spawning season. Keep these fish should be a group of at least 5-8 individuals. Among the group, over time, a hierarchy is formed, where weaker and smaller fish are subordinate to larger and stronger. In the case of keeping fewer fish, the stronger individuals begin to chase the weaker ones, resulting in all fish becoming nervous and fearful. It is possible to keep Satanoperca rhynchitis in a common aquarium with other peaceful non-territorial fish.
An aquarium with a volume of 300 liters or more is required to keep the fish. The most important requirements are for the substrate, which must be sandy. Coarser substrate, such as gravel or small pebbles, can prevent the fish from feeding by damaging their gill membranes. Additional decoration is a matter of personal taste, you can place pieces of driftwood or tree branches on the bottom.
Leaf litter on the substrate is a typical feature of the natural environment, but is not recommended in aquariums, because during feeding the fish raise a lot of mud, which not only spoils the water, but also leads to blockage of the water filter.
Water quality is of paramount importance, as these cichlids are extremely susceptible to fluctuations in its parameters, so you should never start fish in an immature aquarium, in which the biological balance has not yet been established. The best option for maintaining stable water parameters is the use of an external canister filter and weekly replacement of 1/4 of the aquarium water fresh. Water parameters: temperature 22-28° C, hardness dH 1-10°, acidity pH 5,5-7,5.
Satanoperca rhynchitis feeds by sifting sand through its gills. For this reason, the choice of sand substrate is important for the life of these fish in the aquarium. In nature, fish eat plankton, larvae of small insects, detritus seeds and leaves of emergent plants. In the aquarium fish are fed live or frozen moths, artemia, dry food containing spirulina. Feed the fish should be small portions 3-4 times a day.
Reproduction
Its sexual maturity Satanoperca rhynchitis reaches the age of about 1.5 years.
Despite the fact that the fish can spawn in a common aquarium, but for their peace of mind, it is better for these purposes to use a spawning aquarium. A pair of producers pre-cleans a piece of driftwood or part of the ground from dirt, after which the female swords there about 200 eggs. After fertilization of eggs by the male, the fish bury it with sand, after which they do not leave the clutch site and are constantly near it driving away other fish.
The eggs are incubated for three days, after which the producers dig up the clutch. At this time, the larvae begin to hatch, which after 5 days begin to swim and feed. It should be noted that in order to preserve the stock of fry it is desirable immediately after the producers buried the clutch in the sand, carefully transfer it to another small aquarium. This recommendation is due to the fact that very often producers dig out not all the eggs and it is so and dies in the sand.
Fry are fed artemia and dry food intended for fry.
Life expectancy of Satanoperca rhynchitis in aquarium conditions is 10-15 years.
