Freshwater Fish
Ropefish.
The ropefish is a primitive, air-breathing fish from West and Central Africa that hunts by scent after dark — snake-like, slow, and oddly peaceful toward anything too big to swallow. Keep a tight lid on a 55-gallon-plus tank with caves and sand, because this one will find every gap.
In-store purchase only. Live fish, coral, and invertebrates are sold at our Erie store only. They cannot be bought online, and we do not ship live animals under any circumstances.
Live fish are priced per supplier batch — prices may vary. Call to confirm current pricing.
- Condition
- new
- Fulfillment
- Local pickup — Erie, PA
Live animals are sold in store only — we do not ship fish, coral, or invertebrates. Every animal is acclimated and health-checked in-house before it reaches the sales floor. This is a species we carry — it's most likely in the tanks around delivery days, but live stock changes daily. Please call (814) 456-9445 to confirm availability before you drive in.
Care at a glance
What to know before you take one home.
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Temperament
- Semi aggressive
- Community
- Semi community
- Adult size
- 16"
- Min tank size
- 55 gallons
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Scientific name
- Erpetoichthys calabaricus
Good tank mates
Semi-aggressive only in the sense that it'll eat anything small enough to swallow, but it's peaceful toward fish too big to be a meal. Keep it with larger, calm tankmates it can't fit in its mouth, and skip small tetras, shrimp, and other bite-sized fish. Avoid pairing it with aggressive or fin-nipping fish that would harass a slow, nocturnal hunter, and never trust it around anything it could swallow.
Good to know
The ropefish is a primitive air-breather from the slow waters of West and Central Africa and is a notorious escape artist, slipping through any gap in the lid.
Stock and individual temperament vary — call (814) 456-9445 for pairing advice before you buy.
Good tankmates
Plays well with.
Species we’d keep in the same tank, with why each pairing works. Stock and individual temperament vary — call (814) 456-9445 to confirm before you buy.
New to stocking a tank? Read our guide on which fish live together.
Assorted Angelfish
Seriously Fish explicitly lists angelfish among suitable companions for ropefish — peaceful cichlids large enough as adults to avoid predation (note: do not introduce juveniles, as ropefish will eat any fish that fits in their mouth). Water parameters overlap fully with ropefish requirements.
- S
Severum
Seriously Fish names Severum as a recommended tankmate. A calm, medium-large cichlid (8–12 in) with overlapping water parameters (pH 6.0–7.5, temp 22–28°C) that poses no predation risk to the ropefish and will not outcompete it aggressively at feeding time.
- S
Synodontis Catfish
Seriously Fish calls out Synodontis species specifically as suitable West African biotope companions. They share the ropefish's native range and water chemistry, are too robust to be predated, and are fully peaceful toward elongated bottom fish.
- B
Bichir
Bichirs and ropefish are both Polypteriformes — the same order — sharing identical West African biotope origins, near-identical water parameter requirements, and peaceful temperaments toward each other. Aquarium Source recommends the pairing, and it is widely confirmed across the hobby.
Visit the store
660 East 14th Street,
Erie, PA.
Mon–Fri 12–6 · Sat 11–4 · Sun closed. Call ahead on livestock — what's on the floor rotates.