The Erpetoichthys calabaricus, commonly referred to as the Ropefish or Reedfish, is a species in the Bichir order and family. While most Bichirs are from the genus Polypterus, they are the only members of the genus Erpetoichthys. They are native to fresh and brackish waters in West and Central Africa, occurring in the countries of Benin, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and Nigeria.
HOW DO ROPEFISHES LOOK?
As their name suggests, the Ropefish is serpentine in appearance and may be mistaken for an Eel or Snake. Their body shape is long and slender, growing to a maximum length of 36 inches. However, most of the larger Ropefishes kept in aquariums are seen at lengths of 15 to 20 inches.
Just like Bichirs and other prehistoric fishes like the Gars (Lepisosteidae), Bowfin (Amia calva), Paddlefishes (Polyodontidae), and Sturgeons (Acipenseridae), the Ropefish has ganoid scales. Ganoid scales are usually rhomboid in shape and have articulating peg and socket joints between them. This gives the Ropefish an attractive armor-like pattern to their scales.
They also have 9 to 11 small dorsal finlets, like the Bichirs. These appear as small bumps along the back, located halfway through the body until the tail. Below the dorsal finlet — just before the tail — is the anal fin, which is soft-rayed and close to the body.
They are not a particularly-colorful Fish. The main body colors are earthy, blending well with their environment: olive-green, brown, or orangey-brown. The dorsal part of their body is darker than the normally lighter belly. The only other color I observed with a Ropefish is a black blot at the base of the pectoral fins. Otherwise, their color is pretty much uniform.
A pair of nasal tubes is also quite visible protruding above the Ropefish’s mouth.
EXOTIC BUT NOT RARE
The Ropefish was first described by Dr. J. A. Smith in 1865. I first learned about this exotic Fish from books and other publications. It was however in the 1980s when I first saw an actual Ropefish here in the Philippines. Since then, there have been many occasions when I was lucky enough to care for a few at home.
In my opinion, the Ropefish, while very exotic in appearance, is occasionally available in the country. You may not find them all year round like Angelfishes and Goldfishes, but you might see them at least once or twice a year. I suppose they are seasonally available, probably because they are wild-caught.
The price is also not prohibitive and should be affordable to an average person. I would not think of them as rare. Otherwise, we should be paying more money for them.
MEMORABLE PHONE CALL
One day, my phone rang. It was my supplier, who said, “[Would] you like an Albino Ropefish?” I was stunned. Did I really hear it right? Before I could utter a word, he repeated the question.
Without even asking how much it would cost me, I replied yes, not because money was not an issue — believe me, it certainly would have been — but because I believed the albino ones were rare. Caring for Bichirs for more than 30 years, I thought I must care for an Albino Ropefish.
I just wished it would not cost me a whole month’s salary!
ALBINO VERSUS REGULAR
The Albino Ropefish is everything a regular Ropefish is — generally, that is, except that they suffer from albinism. Albinism is a genetic condition caused by an autosomal recessive gene that affects normal pigmentation in animals.
This rare disorder, where there is total absence of melanin or the black pigment, causes two things: a creamy yellow body color and pink to red eyes. The above two features distinctively differentiate them from regular Ropefishes.
RARELY SEEN IN THE WILD
A naturally occurring albino Fish is rare. It is said that albinism in animals may appear once every 5,000,000 births. But finding one alive in the wild is even rarer! Let me explain.
During evolution, imagine how long it took a certain Fish species to develop a body color that would enable them to blend in with their environment. It probably took some millenniums to develop the correct color and survive as a species in the wild.
After thousands of years, nature was able to develop a color best suited for that species we have today. But one freak accident later, a Fish was born without the melanin pigment, resulting in an albino Fish.
Albinism has distorted their ability to blend in with the environment, leaving them in a very vulnerable state. Their creamy yellow color would reveal them, as they had become incapable of blending in with the environment.
It probably would not take long until a predator found it and had it for supper.
ONE IN A MILLION
In my opinion, a wild albino Fish has a very low chance of survival, simply because it does not have the correct color to conceal itself and escape predators. If they make their way to our homes, they are expected to be very expensive.
Let us recall the law of supply and demand, which dictates the price of a certain product. To put simply, if a particular product has a lot of supply but low demand, then the price of that product will most likely be low. Inversely, if the supply of that product is low but demand is great, then the price for that product will be high.
In the case of the Albino Ropefish, the supply is very low. A fish this rare should easily whet the interests of those who have been Fish guardians for some time.
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
Being quite fond of Fishes with a special interest in Bichirs, deciding on keeping the Albino Ropefish was very easy for me. In the past 30 years, I was able to care for all known species of Bichirs, from both the Polypterus and Erpetoichthys genera. Throw in another 10 to 15 variants and undescribed species, and you could say that the Bichirs in my care could be as extensive as those from the world’s top Bichir collectors.
The Albino Ropefish certainly deserves its own tank. It is another albino variant to be added to the other Albino Bichirs at home, such as the common Albino Senegal, Albino Short Body Senegal, and Albino Longfin Senegal.
This should be the rarest among the Albino variants, however, as they come from their natural environment in Africa, unlike the others who were farm-bred in Indonesia. This Albino Ropefish is a special aquatic animal I am proud to share with Bichir peers, because they would appreciate the rarity. I am not sure if I would ever get my hands on another one. I truly believe this is a once-in-a-lifetime Fish.
