I would agree 5 years is a milestone but I've kept ropes and they are a tough tough fish. Assuming the parasites aren't advanced you can easily get a rope to 2-4 years, I've done that many times with near complete neglect(by my standards the fish where never in anything under 55 gallons) I only came to understand the swim bladder issue that ended most of my ropes lives was a result of internal parasites thanks to a very knowledgeable and talented hobbiest. I've never had any luck reactively treating disease on this animal. Not saying it can't be done but in my limited experience it can't be done reactively. I would recommend looking to advanced bichir keepers for advice on the rehabilitation of this animal. The issue I always encountered was that most internal parasites can only be effectively dealt with by the fish ingesting medicine and once a rope shows symptoms they always stop eating for me. I think that bichir and ray keepers would have a better understandings of medicines you could use with this sensitive animal.
