It actually sounds a lot like one of the ropefish's close cousins. The Polyepterus, or bichir. Be careful though, these fish do get between 15 and 30 inches, depending on the species. They really need a long, broad tank with subdued lighting, plenty of hardy plants, nice hinding places and kind, large roomates, if any. These fish will eat anything that it can fit in its mouth, and as an adult that includes some of the African cichlids and even larger fish. Most LFS sell the Polyepterus senegalus, a plain tan body, and when they sell them, they may just be 3 inches, but they are about the smallest growing species of Polyepterus at about 12-15 inches! They have several common names. Some of the most common is some form of bichir or Senegalus bichir. They are also commonly mis-labled as a "Poly Palma," even though the true Polyepterus palmas palmas is not nearly as common. There are about 15 different specific species of the Polyepterus, they originate from african rivers and marshes. They have adapted the abillity to breath atmospheric air (that's what the little "horns" or really big nostrils on the tip of their nose are for) , but remain fully aquatic. They do need, however, about 2 inches of space between the water level and the lid for when they dicide to breathe air instead of extract oxygen from the water. They are carnivorous and oportunistic picsovors (sp?) or fish eaters. They will do extremely well on sinking carnivor tablets or shrimp pellets. They also will eat ANY fish it can catch and fit down its throat. They don't have good eye-sight, but make up for it with a supurb sense of smell. This makes for quite a show when you feed them tablets. They look like they are using sonar getting closer and closer with sweeping strikes and probes at the smell. For this reason, some say a good substrate would be white sylica sand, simply for the white contrast to the typically red or brown food they eat. This really is just up to you. For any more information, just post here or PM me.
If they look almost exactly like the rope fish in body shape and characteristics, but shorter and fatter, they are probably a polyepterus. Really look at the head and fins and nose. They also have a ridge of "spikes" running down their otherwise featurless and streamline body.
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