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 (Author), Milton S. Love (Author), Alfred W. Ebeling (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!
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 (Author), Milton S. Love (Author), Alfred W. Ebeling (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!
