Fish Taxidermy

[Darren87_Sg]

Hey guys juz wondering what you all think of Fish taxidermy. i know of people who do fishing and if they land a big one sometimes they bring it to a taxidermy to stuff it (the real body not fibreglass replica). but i was thinking abt ones that we own,eg like our beloved fishes we kept for a long time,what would you guys do the day it passes away?i've been looking around and saw a guy who stuffed his beloved flowerhorn which he couldn't bear to throw away or bury it,he bought it for $5k USD.(pics below)
would it be a more humane thing to do a fibreglass replica of it and let the body rest in peace,or stuff the body and display it in its glory. for me i think when that day comes i will do a fibreglass replica of my fish and lay its body to rest in peace.

pic courtesy of http://www.aa-taxidermy.com (note this is not a fibreglass replica,its the real thing)
(hope this doesnt offend anyone out there thanks!)

 

[LBathory]

whoa... that's a cool idea, but for 5k? i don't know about that... I know someone has a fiberglass replica of their black arow on this site.

 

[Darren87_Sg]

no i meant 5k for the fish,not the services,i dunno how much the services cost though.must be ex..

 

[beblondie]

Try this
Preservation
Use 70% alcohol for preservation (or at least maintenance of perservation) of our specimens...this is diluted from the 95% stuff we keep on hand in the lab. the actual preservation/fixation, however, is done with formaldehyde. if the fish is larger than just a few inches then i cut the belly so the chemical can enter into the insides of the fish and preserve everything. the fish stays in the form. solution for a couple days. if its a gar or bichir, a fish that has rigid bony scales, then i take the fish out after 2-3 days and just let it air dry. the fish is now dry preserved.

if doing a standard preservation i take the fish out after 2-3 days and let it sit in a container of water to soak out the formalin. after a day in the water the fish is removed and placed into a container of 70% alcohol for long-term preservation.
as far as using other alcohol, i think as long as its relatively pure and the proof is about 140 you should be ok...in theory --

 

[frazzlerock5]

that's the dumbest thing i've ever heard of... i mean if that's what you want to do then go for it... might as well get your dog or cat stuffed when they pass too... better yet, get your parents done too, who knows maybe the taxidermist will have a buy three get the fourth half off special. not trying to be so mean or negative, i just think that's kinda crazy.

 

[dmed]

I'm not entirely opposed to the idea, but I've got to say, that fish looks GROSS!

 

[LBathory]

it looks painted too.

 

[krichardson]

that's the dumbest thing i've ever heard of... i mean if that's what you want to do then go for it... might as well get your dog or cat stuffed when they pass too... better yet, get your parents done too, who knows maybe the taxidermist will have a buy three get the fourth half off special. not trying to be so mean or negative, i just think that's kinda crazy.

If someone can spend hours trying to reel a fish from a lake and then take it to a taxidermist then whats the difference.I have spoken to taxdermist who said that they have a hard time getting the colors to look the same in the finished product when it comes to aquarium fish as they mostly do gamefish which is probably why that hybrid has that painted look.The process can take up to a year to complete,and it can be quite expensive depending on the size of the fish.But nowhere near the price of that flowerhorn.

 

[greatfulxdead]

It kind of just looks like a dead fish to me.

BTW, why would he pay 5k for that fish???

 

[NotoriousSway]

My friend has a saltwater puffer and that looks cool but I think this kinda looks weird.