Rope Fish

Erpetoichthys calabaricus

Also known as: Reedfish, Ropefish, Snakefish

Water Parameters

• Temperature: 23–28°C
• pH: 6–7.5
• Hardness (GH): 36–214 ppm (2–12 dGH)

Values above are general hardness (GH). For carbonate hardness (KH), the buffer that keeps pH stable, see the water parameters guide.

Care Summary

A living oddity that looks far more like a snake or an eel than a fish: a long, slender, armour-scaled body that the rope fish threads slowly through plants and decor, hunting by smell after dark. An ancient air-breather and a relative of the bichirs, it gulps atmospheric air at the surface and can survive out of water for a remarkably long time, which is precisely why it is the hobby's premier escape artist. A fully-sealed lid with no gaps anywhere, not even around pipes and cords, is genuinely non-negotiable, because a rope fish will find the one opening and be lost. Given that, plus a long tank, hiding places, soft substrate, and tankmates too big to swallow, it is a gentle, fascinating, long-lived oddball, social with its own kind and tame enough to learn to feed from the hand.

Tankmates

Peaceful toward fish too large to eat, but a nocturnal predator that will hunt down small fish and shrimp by scent in the dark, so tankmates must be of reasonable size. It is a sociable fish that appreciates the company of its own kind, and it suits a calm community of larger, non-aggressive species in a long, well-furnished tank with caves and hiding places. The single non-negotiable requirement is an absolutely sealed lid: the rope fish is an air-breather and the most determined escape artist in the hobby, and it will squeeze through any gap, including small openings around filter pipes and cords, and die on the floor. Provide soft substrate it can burrow into.

Compatible with

• Silver Dollar
• Bala Shark
• Pearl Gourami
• Bristlenose Pleco
• Angelfish

Avoid keeping with

• Betta
• Neon Tetra
• Guppy
• Ember Tetra
• Cherry Shrimp
• Oscar
• Large Cichlids

Common Problems

• escape through any gap in the lid (sealed lid essential)
• predation on small tankmates and shrimp at night
• missing meals as a slow nocturnal feeder in busy tanks
• sensitivity to copper and many medications

Sources: seriouslyfish.com, fishbase.org · Last updated: 2026-06-20