Ropefish (Erythrinus) growth rate

[piranha45]

I bought a ~10" specimen at the LFS yesterday. Any thoughts on what his growth rate will be like if I feed him regularly? He absolutely loves all the decor I have in my 200g :cool:


I bought a 3" tadpole too, but my P. acei tore his side up and so I flushed him before he died and would start to rot.


WOW, did i screw up on the scientific name or what?! LOL http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/images/smilies/uhoh.gif

[piranha45]

What's the BIGGEST ropefish you all have seen/heard of? Fishbase says they can get 3 feet...

[Caveman]

Biggest I have ever seen was about 18"-20". I havent seen any for sale in a long time.

[piranha45]

my LFS got them in, 16 bucks apiece for specimens in the 7-11" range

[CDM]

The growth rate is really slow. I bought mine 2 yrs ago at 9", and it's now 11" (though I provide it lots feederfishes).

[piranha45]

WOW... what feederfish do you use?

[rayman45]

slow
i seen a 25-27"er in lfs for 300$

[piranha45]

Cool. Was it fat around, like an adult senegal bichir, or was it as skinny as any other ropefish you've seen?

that thing was more expensive than a large endi/ornate, wasnt it?

[rayman45]

LIKE 3-4 inches thick at most

[slavezer0]

saw it at web and really looks like snake.
rare specimen here in the philippines.
hope to find some coz im too interested keeping it.

any pics of your fish?

[piranha45]

naw, I don't have a camera on me, unfortunately. The fish is native to your part of the world, surprised you dont see em...

[slavezer0]

not that much, sir.

[Wisdom16]

I got mine 6-7 months ago at 9-10". He hasn't grown much at all. Maybe .25" at most.

[Fruitbat]

Rope Fish (Erpetoichthys calabaricus) actually aren't native to the Phillipines or any other place in Asia or the South Pacific for that matter...they are stricly African fish like all of their relatives, the Polypterids.

The growth rate for Erpetoichthys is relatively slow and they stay slender for their entire lives (one of the characters that separates them from members of the genus Polypterus, along with the fact that E. calabaricus doesn't have ventral fins while all Polypterus do).

The largest Rope Fish that I've ever personally seen was one that I raised from a youngster many years ago. It eventually reached a length (after over 10 years) of approximately 24 inches and was about as big around as a U.S. quarter.

-Joe

[piranha45]

god bless your appearance on this thread, fruitbat! hehe


their growth rate is appalling :(

Were your guys' specimens active at all when the lights were on? Did it actively feed with other fish? Are they as prone to jumping as bichirs?

[PredatoryFishMagazine]

yeah, they jump. That's how I lost mine. I came home from work one day and it was laying on the floor. I don't know how it got out, but it did.

[Fruitbat]

In general I've found E. calabaricus to be about as active (or inactive depending on your point of view) as most bichirs. Mine have always been fairly energetic feeders and the ones I have now come out of their hiding places immediately upon smelling anything edible in the water.

If anything, Rope Fish are even better escape artists than their 'chunkier' bichir relatives. That long, snakey body makes it easier for them to find an opening they can squeeze out of.

-Joe

[Kieranuk]

At a fish shop near me they buy in all the oddball's without really researching them. They bought a rope fish and I was in when someone was buying it. It got really pissed off when the assistant was trying to get it into a net so it tried to bite her. Then it jumped on the floor and started to crawl away like a snake. It jumped from about 1M in the air and landed without a noise on a concrete floor. So then the assistant screamed and her husband had to pick it up and put it in a bag. This one was about 15" and £30 ($54).

[iheartfishies]

Ya a place near me has like 24" and they're not for sale.
They are her babies.
She always puts her hands all up in their tank, takes 'em out, and talks about how "gentle and sweet" they are. :)
She' s nuts.
I should ask how old they are, I had no idea they has a slow growth rate.

[Cyclop3000]

Do poly's really grow to that size in captivity? I have a polypterus in my tank, and it's not growing fast i tell you. It's still about 5", and I've had it for many months and did not see any enlargement, or maybe just a little...

[buddah101]

Do poly's really grow to that size in captivity? I have a polypterus in my tank, and it's not growing fast i tell you. It's still about 5", and I've had it for many months and did not see any enlargement, or maybe just a little...
My Lapredi is growing like a weed! I feed it fresh frozen smelt every night dosed with Vita~Chem, It loves it!
Lapredi
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/medium/IM001691.JPG (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/medium/IM001691.JPG)

[REDhooK]

i want a ropefish