I haven't posted any pics of Sammy the rope fish lately. Ever since we have greatly diversified his diet, he has gotten an awesome iridescent blue color to his top half. And of course you can't forget my Gibby.
one of mine had it when it got to 16 inches. i think it is a natural process to increase camouflage when they get bigger. they normally go out on land at night to find earthworms, so it would make sense to darken the top of their bodies when they become larger and stand out more.
I love my ropefish too. I have mine with an african butterfly fish, seven congo tetra, a leopard bushfish (also called the african leaf fish, and the spotted perch), and two dwarf african frogs. It's hard to decide which are my favorites. The rope fish scare the neighbors daughters though