# Rope fish question



## Aconite (Dec 4, 2008)

Hi there, 
I am getting a 120L tank tomorrow and the guy at the pet shop told me I can keep a rope fish in there with the other fish I already have. 
I have been reading up and it looks like it might not be a good idea. I am so disappointed, as it looks like my dream fish! But I wont get one if it is going to outgrow this tank.

Firstly, I have a mixed bunch of fish in the tank. So far so good, but I know it is a tricky mix of personalities.
I have a paradise fish and tiger barbs. (they seem to be ok together.)
I also have 4 dojo loaches. And a pleco.

So firstly will the rope fish even survive in such a small tank?
Secondly, if they do only actually get to 40cm, will it get on with its other tankmates?

Please let me know what you think, as pet shops are not really trustworthy... which is how I ended up with an extra tank--- for the other paradise fish!

Cheers!


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

these?... i've kept them...


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## Aconite (Dec 4, 2008)

Not fair!!! I want one, or 2 or 3...
But I have an office full of snakes and I am only going to get away with a medium sized fish tank in the lounge, or my husband will go nuts. 
But I am sooo in love with these fish, just might not have the space.
What do you think?
(Part of me wants you to lie, the good side of me needs the truth.)


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

They get to a decent size and prefer to be in groups. 120L is too small for 1 IMO. 250 litre for an adult.

This is my opinion but I wouldnt based on the tank you have.


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## Aconite (Dec 4, 2008)

Thanks, I pretty much expected that reply. 
The pet shop guy seemed convinced that 2 would be great in my tank. But then he is there to make a profit.
The weather loaches are very cool and so I guess I will just have to be satisfied with them. 
Pity, as the ropes are great fish, but if I cant look after them properly when they get to adult size, then there is no point.
Thanks!


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## strongboW (Dec 12, 2007)

Better to be safe then sorry ey!


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## adamntitch (Jun 17, 2007)

i used to keep a few of these and they are brill but as said better in groups 

i thought weather loachies were cold water tho


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## Aconite (Dec 4, 2008)

Yes, Loachies like it cold. So I have a bit of a compromise in the tank. With the water at 22 which sort of suits everyone. 
How big did your snakies get?
I have pretty much given up on the idea of getting them, but it is nice to keep learning.
I used to have a 300L tank and kept oscars, but I dont have the space for anything that large now. 
The loaches have the best personalities and nibble on my fingers. I adore them, so I will just focus on making them happy. 
Thanks!


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

have you looked into bichirs? they are the same family i think, as ropefish, but are a lot bulkier and far shorter 

one adult ropefish would need a good 250/300 litres..


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## CPT BJ (Oct 30, 2010)

Ive never kept ropefish but have worked with them but have a fair bit of experience keeping Polypterus. 

A 120litre tank is too small and they are renown escape artists so the lid would have to be completely covered. They aren't as predatory as bichirs but they will eat anything that they fit in their mouths so they dont work very well in communal setups.


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

most bichirs easily get as big as if not bigger than ropey fish!

especially the senegals that are most common.


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

senegalus gets around 20/24 inches.. about 20 cm less than a rope


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

seen em bigger when kept properly though


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

I've never heard or seen of a senegalus reaching anywhere near 24". 12" give or take is more like the norm from what I know. Are you sure you're not confusing it with other species? ornatipinis are often seen in aquatics shops and can potentially hit 24" and even larger is the endlicheri that can potentially reach 30"

If you can show me a picture of a senegalus in the 20" range I'd genuinely love to see it.


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## CPT BJ (Oct 30, 2010)

_simon_ said:


> I've never heard or seen of a senegalus reaching anywhere near 24". 12" give or take is more like the norm from what I know. Are you sure you're not confusing it with other species? ornatipinis are often seen in aquatics shops and can potentially hit 24" and even larger is the endlicheri that can potentially reach 30"
> 
> If you can show me a picture of a senegalus in the 20" range I'd genuinely love to see it.


 I agree have never seen one over 12".


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

CPT BJ said:


> Ive never kept ropefish but have worked with them but have a fair bit of experience keeping Polypterus.
> 
> A 120litre tank is too small and they are renown escape artists so the lid would have to be completely covered. They aren't as predatory as bichirs but they will eat anything that they fit in their mouths so they dont work very well in communal setups.


And may even attempt to eat something that they _think_ will fit in their mouths.


I prefer the Polypterus personally.....and mind keep telling me if I take my eyes off the tank for one second they'll be on my lap. As CPT BJ says, eacape artists.....you'll not believe how easy these things can get out of a tank until you see it.

ian


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

Sorry!! I was speaking about Birchirs in general, not just the senegalus!!  sorry for the confusion.


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## Andy82 (Mar 8, 2011)

Yeh, Birchirs are great, mine was about 8 inches but had to sell it as it was in its own tank and not my main tank.

They will happily chop on tetra's and other small fish though, so not for a community tank.

Mine loved hunting feeder shrimp from within the plants.


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## snapperx (Oct 7, 2009)

Bichir are fine for a community with similar size fishes, i.e. thoses that it can't fit into it's mouth.

I keep my 18in ornatipinnis and endlicheri with giraffe cats, gibbicep plecos, humbug cats and ctenopoma kingsleyae happily together in a 6ft tank.

Rope fish are interesting but have a tendency to commit suicide by leaving the tank through the smallest gaps!


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## Aconite (Dec 4, 2008)

Well, a quick update... I got a rope fish! But it looked very shy in the tank with all the barbs etc, so I went back to the shop and got the one it had been kept with in their tank. As soon as the friend arrived the first rope fish became more confident and active. 
The new rope fish took a while to get used to his new surroundings. I have never seen them feed. 
They have a lot of competition as I have weather loaches in there that devour all the food I try and hide for the rope fish. 
I hope in time they will chill out and feed from my hand, or at least show some sign of feeding. 

The new rope fish has been at the top of the tank all day, doing nothing, not really swimming much. So I am having my first rope fish panic. 
I will just watch and try him on some mussel later in the day.
Thanks for all the info. I have my eye on a very 350L tank for when they get bigger.


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

sounds a bit too impulse buy to me..
you should have left it, to go in the larger tank you are looking at, reducing stress etc


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## Aconite (Dec 4, 2008)

I dont think it was an impulse buy, as I have been researching it for quite a while now and as they are pretty small I assume they will not need a new tank for a good 6 months to a year. 

However that is the least of my problems right now. 
I bought the first fish about 2-3 weeks ago and it seemed to settle in well, but was a bit shy. 
I got the second fish a week ago and it also took a while to get settled. 
When I first placed it in the tank it seemed to have slight trouble righting itself. It sort of fell to the side a bit in the water and flapped its tail more than looked necessary. But I was not overly concerned as it was a good body weight, fins etc and eyes looked good too. 
Well it died today!

I do regular water changes and keep the fish in a tank with good heating and filtration systems. I have done regular water tests and all are well within the parameters. 
I feed the fish live bloodworm and some frozen mussel. 
All the other fish in the tank look great, are active and eat well.

So I can only think it is something it had when I bought it. This morning it was floating listless on the top of the water- eyes cloudy. I placed it immediately into a quarantine tank with anti-internal bacteria treatment. But it was clearly too late. 

Now the other rope fish is displaying the symptoms the dead fish displayed a week ago. Sort of rolling around, diving into the sand face first and having a hard time with coordination. 
All the other fish seem normal. Nothing has been added to the tank since the dead one arrived from the shop.
Both were bought from the same shop and came from the same batch from the breeder. Both were good body weight, active, but shy and about 6 inches long. 

Any advice on how to proceed? I will take the dead one to the shop tomorrow and take a sample of the water too. 
It really sucks. Especially as I am sure the surviving rope fish is also infected. I did a 20% water change and medicated with anti internal bacteria. But I hope it is not too late. 

I know you probably cant help, but any suggestions that might save the life of number 1 would be most welcome.


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## Mynki (Mar 24, 2010)

Can you post pictures of both the dead and live fish?

Can you post a full set of water parameters?

You mention feeding bloodworm and frozen mussel. On their own, that would make for an inadequate diet. Though that probably won't be the root cause of the problem. Bloodworm has little nutritional value as it's mainly water. So try and introduce more nutritional food items as well.


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## Aconite (Dec 4, 2008)

First thing I need to do is find a new aquatics shop!
I have been ok with info online, but when it comes to the crunch it is nice to get info from people in the shop who have kept these fish for over 30 years. (apparently)
I was dubious about some of the info they gave me, which is why I came onto rfuk. 
Anyway, short answer is no, I have not taken a photo yet. 
I am a bit too sad to take the dead one out of the water just yet. But I guess I have to as he is at the bottom, very dead. 
I will take him out now and freeze him. Will try to take a pic before.
I want to freeze him just incase he is still a bit alive.

As for the other one. It is also too late. 
Whatever they have has taken effect and changed them in less than 2 days. 
as 2 days ago they were swimming and eating and seemed normal. But now the one that was alive 3 hours ago is floating, barely able to keep himself level and his eyes are cloudy.

Should I give him a chance in a quarantine tank? Or should I just bag him in water and freeze him, so he doesnt suffer any more of this very quick spiral into definite death. 

All the other fish look great. So it is just them. Poor little mites :-(((


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

you have left the body in the tank? so its breaking down and beginning to poison the water.not good. also, do not freeze live fish. if you feel the need to do this at least freeze the water before until it has a crust of ice on top, break the crust and drop the fish in then freeze it. do not freeze the fish in normal temp water. you are far better off euthanizing using clove oil though, quick and pain free for the fish.


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## Mynki (Mar 24, 2010)

Freezing is inhumane and not a good way to put them out of their misery.

Dead fish need to be removed immediately. If not they will end up polluting the water to the point where other fish will die from ammonia poisoning.

Leave the other fish in. Post pics and water parameters quickly and people may be able to help.


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## Aconite (Dec 4, 2008)

The dead fish is alone in the quarantine tank. I am pretty sure he is dead, but I dont want to lift him out and examine him till I am 100% sure. He probably died about an hour ago, so it is hard to know at this stage. 
Well, I know with snakes sometimes they seem dead when they are still alive.

I will freeze some water now and place the fish in it later tonight.
The movement of the water is pulling him around. He has no strength left. 
How can something kill so fast? Any ideas what it could be and why no other fish seems to be affected? (yet!!!)


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

i would wait to euthanize until you get some clove oil. remove the dead one from the QTtank and put the ill one into the clean Qt tank and then you can euthanize humanely tomorrow. clove oil it very cheap, about £3 a bottle at boots or a chemists, i really wouldnt euthanize him when you have a spare QT to keep him in.


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## Aconite (Dec 4, 2008)

Not sure if this makes sense.
But it is basically the colours that come up on the tetra test I have just done.

no3 =50
no2 =0
gh =16d
kh =10d
ph =7.2
cl2 =0.8

THANKS!


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## Aconite (Dec 4, 2008)

goldie1212 said:


> i would wait to euthanize until you get some clove oil. remove the dead one from the QTtank and put the ill one into the clean Qt tank and then you can euthanize humanely tomorrow. clove oil it very cheap, about £3 a bottle at boots or a chemists, i really wouldnt euthanize him when you have a spare QT to keep him in.


Ok, will do so now. 
Ho should I dispose of the dead one? Keep him in a bag with water? Freeze him? I want to take him to the pet shop tomorrow incase they can do a test. I dont want to loose the entire tank of fish.


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## Aconite (Dec 4, 2008)

Any other household oil that can work as well as clove oil? He wont last till tomorrow. poor thing.


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

i doubt the shop will want to do any test but some will want to see the body if its within their replacement time scale. i always freeze any fish that have died or i have had to euthanize, just for my own peace of mind, then i tie them in a small food bag or nappy sack and put them in the bin.


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

if you have no clove oil and have no way to humanely euthanize, just set up the QT tank so hes comfortable and let him pass naturally.


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## Aconite (Dec 4, 2008)

Well, the sad news is that both of them are dead now.

Could someone tell me what can kill 2 rope snakes so fast, but leave all the other fish in the same tank looking fine?
They all get to eat the same food and the bottom dwellers like the plec and dojo loaches look fine.

Off to the shop first thing to see what they can think of, but I doubt they will know either. You guys, on the other hand, might!

Very sucky way to start the day.


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## Berber King (Dec 29, 2007)

spinnin_tom said:


> senegalus gets around 20/24 inches.. about 20 cm less than a rope


Try around 12" average.You seem to spout a lot of mis-informed nonsense.Perhaps try and give advice on species you actually have experience of.....


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## Berber King (Dec 29, 2007)

Id hazard a guess that the OPs water conditions are not good to lose both fish so quickly.Your other fish will have built up a tolerance over time.Also,22c is too low for Reed Fish.


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

Berber King said:


> Try around 12" average.You seem to spout a lot of mis-informed nonsense.Perhaps try and give advice on species you actually have experience of.....


i have had senegalus.
i gave it away, i don't see how not having a fish means i can't give advice on it. i can research and read stuff


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## Graylord (Jul 17, 2007)

This might sound a bit obvious but i`m presuming there was enough air space between the water surface and the cover glasses as these fish need to come up for gulps of air.


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## Berber King (Dec 29, 2007)

spinnin_tom said:


> i have had senegalus.
> i gave it away, i don't see how not having a fish means i can't give advice on it. i can research and read stuff


 
Re-gurging wikipedia isnt going to help anyone.The other day you had a 2ft BGK that reached that size in a year,which got smaller when questioned......


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

Berber King said:


> Re-gurging wikipedia isnt going to help anyone.The other day you had a 2ft BGK that reached that size in a year,which got smaller when questioned......


i'm sorry, i guessed it was 2 foot, it isn't. that's nothing similar. it's not wiki either, it's numerous other sources.


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## JumperBoy (Jul 3, 2010)

*Put the spade down.*



spinnin_tom said:


> i'm sorry, i guessed it was 2 foot, it isn't. that's nothing similar. it's not wiki either, it's numerous other sources.


Time to put the spade down, get out of the hole, listen to what people say without arguing blindly and know to admit when you are wrong.

Im saying this at a point of veiw of just a person on the side as i do not know you. <-- just incase you were gonna boot off. :whistling2:


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

ReptileCap said:


> Time to put the spade down, get out of the hole, listen to what people say without arguing blindly and know to admit when you are wrong.
> 
> Im saying this at a point of veiw of just a person on the side as i do not know you. <-- just incase you were gonna boot off. :whistling2:


 
well considering this is an old thread, i apologised in the post which you quoted.
i'm not digging a bigger hole, you have re opened this so :bash:


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## JumperBoy (Jul 3, 2010)

spinnin_tom said:


> well considering this is an old thread, i apologised in the post which you quoted.
> i'm not digging a bigger hole, you have re opened this so :bash:


I didnt consider a few days a old a old thread.

I didnt say you hadnt appologised, i was mearly offering a bit of freindly advice, however you apparently have a chip on your shoulder so i shal just leave now.

Sorry for bothering, Alec.


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

ReptileCap said:


> Sorry for bothering, Alec.


that's all right.
thanks for getting your nose in


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## JumperBoy (Jul 3, 2010)

*No need.*

Now your just been childish. :lol2:


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

*slaps spinnin_tom with a 12" senegalus*


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## hippyhaplos (Jan 12, 2010)

_simon_ said:


> *slaps spinnin_tom with a 12" senegalus*


That's if it doesn't escape from your hands


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

you guys are just too funny :2thumb:


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

hippyhaplos said:


> That's if it doesn't escape from your hands


I have many years experience when it comes to a firm grasp :whistling2:


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## hippyhaplos (Jan 12, 2010)

_simon_ said:


> I have many years experience when it comes to a firm grasp :whistling2:


You not lost it wiith those koi around?


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

Vicious rumours!


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