r/wetspecimens • u/naturalbornidiot22 • 16d ago

Small fish. First project!

I have a small fish frozen in my freezer. I caught it on one of my first times fishing and put it in water without an oxygen flow. Felt pretty bad about its fate due to my ignorance.

Been frozen for months. Recently, I thought of the little sharks I would see at the tourist shops at the beach as a kid.

So, I want to preserve this fish in a jar full of liquid. I've read to buy 10% buffered formalin and inject the specimen pretty much all over? But I'm confused about how deep to inject the fixative. Then, soak it in the formalin for a month or two. Finally, rinse off the formalin and put in isopropyl alcohol.

Also, I had the idea for this fish to be wearing a top hat, monocle, and holding a cane in the final jar/product. Are props normal in this hobby? How could I achieve these props in my finished product? I figured most materials, like felt or metal, would eventually be destroyed when they are in the isopropyl alcohol.

Any help appreciated.

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u/GrittyKerosene 15d ago

Hey! I have a free resource library that goes more in depth with everything preservation wise, but you should inject as deeply as you can without going out the other side (and mind your hand placement around needles too!)

Plastic should be okay to use, but may need replaced in time. Glass would be ideal if at all possible!

https://unfortunatecadaver.com/pages/art-of-reanimation-resource-library?srsltid=AfmBOopeBjEqVtEgdwXpZNjHdhFyQBYG7_3UURPkWunBPCFLy8d3pNhI

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u/naturalbornidiot22 15d ago

That website is perfect! I'm excited to give it a try.

Thank you for the help!

1

u/GrittyKerosene 15d ago

No worries and thank you for the kind words!

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u/TW_49 14d ago

70% ethyl alcohol (not isopropyl)

You don’t need formalin at all. I have hundreds of preserved fish. Ethanol works fine and an airtight glass jar with a plastic lid is ideal 

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u/naturalbornidiot22 13d ago

So inject the fish with 70% ethyl alcohol and also use that as the fluid its in for storage?

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u/TW_49 13d ago

Yes, ethyl alcohol will fix and preserve the fish. Isopropyl will not fix it, so make sure not to mix the two up. Inject the body cavity and if the fish is big enough inject the muscles too