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 skullas

 

[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..

 

[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!