preserving fish

[Bottomfeeder]

i hava a 3'' Mbuna Cichlid and a 5'' Tiger Botia Loach that i found on the lfs floor. i want to get the skelleton, or at least the skull and part of the spine. how??? theyre both in my freezer, and the Cichlid was really dried and shriveled up when i found it. the Loach was too but regained some consistency when i rinsed the dirt off of it. how do u get the skull:nilly:as

[Mbutiful]

Put them both in a tub of starving crickets, mine will eat anything when i first get them from my local reptile shop!

[likestofish]

there are some beetles used to fesh of keletons give oh man i forgot his name hes really famous in the catfish forum necropsy?

[Bottomfeeder]

there are some beetles used to fesh of keletons give oh man i forgot his name hes really famous in the catfish forum necropsy?
necrocainus. i sent him a pm but he hasnt replied :(
btw im not sure my parents are crazy about the idea of me brining insects home...

[duke33]

Midnight puts them on an anthill.

[likestofish]

oh yeah at the lfs Gary found a dead bat so he stuck it one an ant hill for a few days now he has a cool bat skeleton. Also dont use bleach to make the bones white it ruins the bones they will crumble apart.

[Lupin]

necrocainus. i sent him a pm but he hasnt replied :(
btw im not sure my parents are crazy about the idea of me brining insects home...
The correct spelling is necrocranis.

[snyder810]

well for larger skulls my family boils them outside in a big pot over a fire, lets them sit for bugs to pick the rest of the meat off..then boil again to kill anything else off. never done a fish thou.

[Eoibio]

I dunno...WHY DID YOU LIFT DEAD FISH FROM THE FLOOR EXACTLY?

I want to 'accidently' find a monster plec on the floor of the shop..:devil:

[abarilot]

I had to do this on a tuna head for an ichthyology class a couple of years ago. First you boil the fish and gradually pull the flesh and skin off. As you do this bones will be pulled off as well so I would document (ie camera, notepad) where the bones came from to make it easier to put back together. Once all the flesh is off the bones put the bones in a 1:10 ratio of bleach to water mix for maybe 30 seconds, if the bones are really small just do a quick dip. This step will help eliminate the smell. Rinse them in water and then allow them to dry for a day or two. Then use a hot glue gun to reassemble. Btw try to boil them outside cuz it smells pretty bad. GL!

[Bpweitzm]

Hey there,
I work in a necropsy facility and have preserved several specimens of varying creatures.

Small guys are a lot harder than big ones, they have small bones!

Abarilot's reply works great for larger fish and bigger skulls, (I did the skull with him :)).

If you really want a cleaned up fish skeleton you have several options, you can boil it, it will fall apart and need more cleaning before putting together.

The cricket route is ingenious if you have the time and need to feed crickets, I suggest removing as much flesh as you can before giving the carcass, as the skeleton gets cleaner, remove clean bones to prevent degredation. Similar process with ants but be sure they don't carry any small bones away.

The beatles are called Dermestid beatles that eat flesh and it is a slowwww process but very thorough.

You can also hang the skeleton in a body of water, open ocean works best. Use a FINE mesh so only little microorganisms eat the remaining flesh and not the bones.

With all of these steps you need to degrease the bones to fully preserve them. Bones hold oils and over time they seep out. You can sometimes use a detergent such as joy in a light solution, but I recommend googl-ing "BONE MACERATION" This is they actual process of removing and preparing skeletons.

Finally piecing together macerated specimens, that are clean and degreased can be challenging. I recommend looking up or purchasing fish anatomy guides such as:
Fishes: A Field and Laboratory Manual on Their Structure, Identification and Natural History (Paperback)

by Gregor M. Cailliet (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Gregor%20M.%20Cailliet) (Author), Milton S. Love (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_2?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Milton%20S.%20Love) (Author), Alfred W. Ebeling (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_3?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Alfred%20W.%20Ebeling) (Author)

is very helpful.

Anyway, if you look up maceration, bone degreasing, and skeleton preservation you should find all that you need. I found too that i could strengther brittle bones by dipping them into a clear coat epoxy resin, such as west system with the special clear coat hardener. Play around and have fun!

[krichardson]

Midnight puts them on an anthill.
If the weather permits it then that should do it.