Ropefish(Reedfish) Group vs Single

nausky

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 23, 2014
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Hi everyone! I'm new here.

I've been doing a lot of research on Ropefish because I'm extremely fascinated by them, and my research suggests that they would work really well in a Discus tank. Both are peaceful and enjoy warm water. The tank in question (in the planning stages right now, my Discus are currently in a grow-out tank) is a 105g with pool filter sand (48x24x21). The canopy is custom and I believe it will prevent any ropefish escape. I'm rigging up a thumb screw top with custom cut holes for my tubing, which will be easy for me to remove for maintenance, but near impossible for a fish to knock off.
I was wondering if anyone with experience with these fish could suggest an appropriate number of them, given my tank size. I have read so many mixed reports. Some people say you should have them in groups of 3+, and others report aggression with more than one (which is strange since they seem so peaceful). My LFS only stocks one at a time and I've read in several places that it's a bad idea to introduce more after one is already established. Also, I would appreciate only having to quarantine once. So I'm considering just ordering off of LiveAquaria.

Is it really bad to have just one? I have the space for multiples, I keep my water quality excellent and the tank is only going to have Discus and 2 Bristlenose plecos, but the mixed experiences I'm reading about make me very uneasy.

Thanks a lot for any advice. I'm anxious to hear different perspectives on this topic.
 

nausky

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 23, 2014
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United States
Ive had them as a single and as a triple. They seemed more active active and less shy with 3.

I had one and added two later with no issue in a 75

Sent from my LG-LS720 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

That's good to hear. I'll probably end up with 2 or 3 then. I really wouldn't want it to hide all of the time.
 

jagster

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jan 17, 2011
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Canada
i have jsut one and hes very active, i can even hand feed him earth worms, he hangs out with my bichirs
 

nausky

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 23, 2014
10
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United States
I ended up having a similar experience. I ordered 3 and we lost one the next day. Of the remaining two, I have one really outgoing rope that feeds from my hand and one that's very shy. Still having issues feeding him so he took matters into his own hands and ate my dojo loach. :nilly:

I think they'll be all right, but I can see that the shy one would prefer having a group to lay around with.
 

mikec707

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 9, 2009
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I would go with at least 3. I use to keep ropes an they would always pile up on eachother an hung out together. I have also kept just one my tank. It also did really well an was active all the time. If you have the room the more the merrier. It sounds like you're sealing your tank. Over the last 7 years I've lost 3 ropes due to jumping out of the tank after I left the lid open at night.
 

nausky

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 23, 2014
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United States
Yes my quarantine tank lid was sealed, too well actually, I think I killed one of them this week. :(

The light and the moisture formed this really nasty yellow film on my glass top and I had been too lazy to unseal everything to clean it. The QT tank lid was duct taped down since I'm still working on setting up the new tank. The grime wasn't in the tank so I didn't really worry about it. Then during a water change I overfilled the tank and the stuff fell in.. I tried my best to get it all out but one of the ropefish has taken extremely poorly to whatever that was. Last night he started to dropsy a little bit and now his entire body is pine-coned badly. Extremely sudden and I doubt he's going to make it. Very upsetting and it's completely my fault for being lazy about the cleanliness of the lid.

So... now that I probably just have one, does anyone have a trusted place to order Ropefish from? My LFS carries them but I'm not so confident in them after their supplier sent me one that couldn't swim. Has anyone had luck with LiveAquaria? Being a little more familiar with this forum now, I realize I should have posted in the polypterus section.
 

Dr.B

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Jul 28, 2012
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Well before we write him off let's see if we can try and save him and even if we can't save him we can find out what causes it and prevent it again. Do you have any pics?
 

nausky

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 23, 2014
10
0
0
United States
Certainly not writing the poor guy off. I'll get some pictures when I get back from work. I've just never had a fish recover when a symptom was dropsy. :(

Before leaving for work I dosed the tank with 1/4 tsp per 10g (56g QT tank) Epsom salts to help with the swelling. I'm also set to do a 50% WC when i get back. Just don't have a lot of faith.
 
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