# Anyone ever had an African Rope Fish?



## slickwillislim (Nov 9, 2005)

I had one in a 29g a while back, they should have much larger tanks since they get pretty big. They can eat full size zebra danios... trust me on that. They can eat pretty big fish for their mouth. I think any guppy would be in danger of being eaten after it grows a little. 

Mine loved ghost shrimp. I put ten in the tank he ate them all and promptly died. (within minutes)

In the case of the ottos. If he does eat one chances are he will severely hurt himself of the ottos spiny side fins. I personally wouldn't keep them together, but maybe the rope fish is smart enough to stay away.

They are cool fish, I had it jump out of a temporary container twice and be on the carpet for extended amounts of time and he always bounced back.


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## JennysPlanties (Sep 30, 2007)

slickwillislim said:


> They are cool fish, I had it jump out of a temporary container twice and be on the carpet for extended amounts of time and he always bounced back.


I have heard that about them since they have a "lung" and breath at the surface. Interesting!!

I think what I'm going to do is set up my other 55 gal to have a bunch of med-large carnivorous fish and put one or two in there. There are so many cool fish I'd love to have that just aren't compatible with a bunch of guppies.

I'm thinking 2 rope fish, a black ghost knife, butterfly fish, and not sure what else yet...

And I'm going to have to re-arrange my living room to fit the other tank in there. LoL Hubby is going to have my neck! :icon_eek:


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## Mangala (Jul 23, 2006)

What you could do, if you're sick of the guppies taking over your other tank, is use the guppies as feeder fish occasionally... Just a thought.


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## caoboy (Apr 22, 2007)

JennysPlanties said:


> I have heard that about them since they have a "lung" and breath at the surface. Interesting!!
> 
> I think what I'm going to do is set up my other 55 gal to have a bunch of med-large carnivorous fish and put one or two in there. There are so many cool fish I'd love to have that just aren't compatible with a bunch of guppies.
> 
> ...




NOOOOO.

That African rope fish or 'reed fish' Grow to 3 feet long EACH. As well as the black ghost knife, and I don't know about the butterfly fish, but he'd probably get eaten later on.

Rope fish are a lung fish, so yes, they go up to the surface and breath air.

They also are very capable of wriggling themselves out of any hole in your tank. 

They also aren't very active iirc, and like to hide in caves. I want to say that they burrow themselves in substrate, but that may not be true. 



All in all, if you want those fish in your tank, you need to get a BIG tank. like 250 gallons to house all those fish properly.

You could get away with a 150 gallon, but I don't think that it will be too happy in there. 

A buddy of mine has an Australian Arowana, and it ate everything else in his tank (150gal) or killed it, basically because of the lack of space.


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

go there for info on big fish, I'd recommend against putting one in a 55.


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## slickwillislim (Nov 9, 2005)

I agree with a 55g being too small. My 29g was too small for him. He didn't grow more than a couple inches in the year I had him. 

Mine never burrowed and he was in a tank with all sand so he could have easily. He didn't hide a lot. I put some small diameter pvc in there for him and he seemed content.


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## JennysPlanties (Sep 30, 2007)

Hmm... well that's no good. I don't want to cramp the poor thing. I guess I'll have to think about getting a bigger tank. There is always the fish wish list, right? 

They just seem so tiny in the tanks at the LFS.... rope fish was maybe 8" long, and the black ghost knife barely 4". Guess they grow quickly...


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## caoboy (Apr 22, 2007)

JennysPlanties said:


> Hmm... well that's no good. I don't want to cramp the poor thing. I guess I'll have to think about getting a bigger tank. There is always the fish wish list, right?
> 
> They just seem so tiny in the tanks at the LFS.... rope fish was maybe 8" long, and the black ghost knife barely 4". Guess they grow quickly...


They can in the right conditions, ie, right sized tank. I traded in my arowana because I didn't feel safe having him in my tank, he started jumping as he matured, and didn't want him breaking the top or jumping out. It was a beautiful fish, and rope fish are soo cool too, as well as knifes, but i just don't want to risk anything starting with a tank that is too small....just upgrade to a 250 gallon tank...it's not THAT expensive....you would have so much room to plant! and your fish could live happily. Isn't it worth it to you? LOL :hihi:


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

caoboy said:


> They can in the right conditions, ie, right sized tank. I traded in my arowana because I didn't feel safe having him in my tank, he started jumping as he matured, and didn't want him breaking the top or jumping out. It was a beautiful fish, and rope fish are soo cool too, as well as knifes, but i just don't want to risk anything starting with a tank that is too small....just upgrade to a 250 gallon tank...it's not THAT expensive....you would have so much room to plant! and your fish could live happily. Isn't it worth it to you? LOL :hihi:


Wow, 
Hey caoboy, spend much time wearing red suits whispering in people's left ear? :icon_twis 

LOL :thumbsup:


BTW, another fish in that group is the Dragon Fish also called the Violet Goby.
Always loved them


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## Blacksunshine (Oct 11, 2006)

Rope fish love to leave the tank. Personally I prefer their cousins the Bichirs.


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