A terrible question to ask. Fish preservation post mortum?

[willisd]

What a morbid threat tittle.
I flush all my fish. I sometime use them as fertilizer for my outdoor plants. Need to put them deep enough so animal won't dig them up and kill my plants. I normally don't throw them into the garbage can unless trash day is the next day.

Cannot preserve the majestic of my animals postmortem other than in photos.
This is how I preserved my fish. That piece of fish jerky went to the garbage can.
My Naoko Wrasse from the fish store (Petco) to his full majestic then to his demise when I was in too much of a hurry lifting the lid to feed, no more than 15 seconds. I was in a hurry and did not see him jumped when I briefly open the tank lid.
Camera and lots of picture of your favorite animals.

I understand the disgust but you kind of have to ask to know.

He will be joining his brothers in the compost pile. All of the fish you’ve uploaded are short lived and I don’t know that you have any idea how much me and Mr Blue have been through with my 3 brain surgeries and both of our multiple scrapes near death in the past 20 years. He survived multiple mistakes of mine he shouldn’t have and I have always felt blessed. I will plant a garden on their bodies and look to get some portraits commissioned.

Without a thread like this others may not know the answers themselves in the future and I was presented with a rare opportunity of preservation with him so near death in good condition. I did research before posting and didn’t find much information so it was warranted and this can serve as a record. Even in these scenarios there is not much you can do.

For the record he was over a foot long so flushing down the toilet visual made me gag a little bit. I have an incredible amount of photos but there have been enough tears looking through them the last 24 hours to post much more

 

[stalkem]

Not the thread I was expecting when I clicked the title. I thought this was going to be a bout Fish Trusts, leaving estates to the preservation and maintenance of fish upon the owners death . My wife and I are about to do some will work, so I thought it was interesting. Maybe I'll start that thread.

 

[OrionN]

How about my PBT?

 

[OrionN]

I understand the disgust but you kind of have to ask to know.

He will be joining his brothers in the compost pile. All of the fish you’ve uploaded are short lived and I don’t know that you have any idea how much me and Mr Blue have been through with my 3 brain surgeries and both of our multiple scrapes near death in the past 20 years. He survived multiple mistakes of mine he shouldn’t have and I have always felt blessed. I will plant a garden on their bodies and look to get some portraits commissioned.

Without a thread like this others may not know the answers themselves in the future and I was presented with a rare opportunity of preservation with him so near death in good condition. I did research before posting and didn’t find much information so it was warranted and this can serve as a record. Even in these scenarios there is not much you can do.

For the record he was over a foot long so flushing down the toilet visual made me gag a little bit. I have an incredible amount of photos but there have been enough tears looking through them the last 24 hours to post much more

If you have good pictures/or any picture of him, that would be what you can remember him by.
To each his own. I like pictures and documentation of my animals and plants with pictures.
Taken pictures is one thing but name/edit and save the files them in such a way that we can go back to them in a logical, useful way is another mater.
Good luck

 

[Cobia237]

If you look hard enough there are some taxidermists who still do real skin mounts. You could also look into the guys who do skeletal mounts, but that might not fit your mentality. My guess is you might have to ask a few before someone would say yes.

 

[willisd]

If you have good pictures/or any picture of him, that would be what you can remember him by.
To each his own. I like pictures and documentation of my animals and plants with pictures.
Taken pictures is one thing but name/edit and save the files them in such a way that we can go back to them in a logical, useful way is another mater.
Good luck

I have albums logging all of his progress yearly and have actually fed all of my images into a neural network to help me determine growth rate and offer easier identification on my extensive library. I’m a tech nerd and have been doing this a while (albeit it on the old RC and swfish forums we new2u) I also have numerous videos but have reached out to others on getting a larger portrait commissioned.

The impact on my life this fish has had is much greater than a digital or printed photo and I want to be sure he is commemorated that way.

Each to his own but let’s remember that we go to great ends to form bonds with our fish and preserving that eternally is important to me

 

[Dom]

I may just bury him in the same pot that his brother the foxface lives in and not be so macabre about it.

I’d rather not be cruel and defile and old friend either. He had some real battle scars and survived 3 tank transfers. I used to complain he was always sticking his face in my pictures.

17 years has to be about the lifespan in the wild anyway. I doubt I’ll ever be able to keep another hippo, none could live up to mr blue.

Agreed... nothing like a nicely framed photo.

 

[Malcontent]

Find a taxidermist that freeze dries fish. Freeze drying became an option for pet owners a few years ago as it changes their appearance the least.

Winter is a good time to ship frozen fish.

Avoid storing in a freezer with automatic defrosting.

 

[fish farmer]

I have albums logging all of his progress yearly and have actually fed all of my images into a neural network to help me determine growth rate and offer easier identification on my extensive library. I’m a tech nerd and have been doing this a while (albeit it on the old RC and swfish forums we new2u) I also have numerous videos but have reached out to others on getting a larger portrait commissioned.

The impact on my life this fish has had is much greater than a digital or printed photo and I want to be sure he is commemorated that way.

Each to his own but let’s remember that we go to great ends to form bonds with our fish and preserving that eternally is important to me

17 years.... that's a good run.

I think when my clownfish die I'm building a pyramid, they are in the mid teens now.

 

[bobnicaragua]

I’ve been flushing dead fish down the toilet since the mid 90s!

 

[PocketGoose]

Sorry about Mr. Blue

 

[edd59]

Why do you say that?

because i used to do taxidermy as a hobby years ago although i never did fish. they used to use the fish hide but once dead and dried it has no color so its all paint. now they tell fisherman to measure the fish, take a picture and release or eat it. its really just a 3D picture, i wouldnt waste your money.

 

[littlefoxx]

I attempted a basic resin for my first beloved emerald crab. He turned orange in the mold. I tried a resin for my first clownfish that died with velvet and that was well not a good idea. Awful. I felt horrible. I now give them a sendoff in the toilet and flush them and believe the Nemo line “all drains lead to the ocean”. Yes I know not the case but makes me feel better. I say just burry your friend and give a good farewell to him so you dont have to see him if something goes wrong in the process and thats likely considering fish dont preserve well. I am very sorry for your loss. 17 years is a long time to have and bond with a fish that becomes family.

 

[kevgib67]

Decades ago I would wrap the fish in newspaper and freeze before taking it to the taxidermist. But I believe a couple of decades ago they make a replica based off a picture, weight, girth and length which I would have done if it was available.

 

[exnisstech]

Sorry for your loss. I get where your coming from as I have had pets my entire life and it always hurts to loose them. The more we care the more it hurts. That said I usually bury my pets and have photos for memories.
There is a local reefer that has every fish he has ever had stored in freezers. Last I heard he has 2 full sized freezers just for his fish that died through the years. I think that's a bit much but to each his own.

 

[Malcontent]

There is a local reefer that has every fish he has ever had stored in freezers. Last I heard he has 2 full sized freezers just for his fish that died through the years. I think that's a bit much but to each his own.

He might want to consider freeze drying. It's a bit more permanent.

Or go the other way and send them off to be stored in liquid nitrogen.

It might be worth it to at least keep a tissue sample of your favorite fish. Cloning fish is easier than mammals and it might not be that far in the future that it becomes affordable.

 

[Tired]

Oh, and this isn't quite on topic, but- picking up some clove oil is probably a good idea, if he hasn't died yet (haven't read the entire thread to check). It can be used to euthanize moribund fish, to save them the trouble and pain of dying on their own, and IMO should always be on hand for fish that get too sick or injured to be helped.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I apologize for the brief thread and not a ton of prior explanation, but I am curious if anyone is aware of any sort of fish preservation options that are available for treasured fish once they leave us.

I have tragically had a latent velvet outbreak that has managed to make fairly quick work of my reef in the last week and I am down to a seemingly fine flame angel and my poor 17 year old hippo tang who is circling the drain.

Mr Blue is a true treasure to the family and he’s currently in the acclimation box to live out his last breaths because I can’t bring myself to do anything else in some prayer he makes it.

Is there any sort of options for casting in resin or doing taxidermy of some sort on a well preserved corpse? I know this sounds terrible but this fish had been with me half my life and I’d like to try to keep him with me in some way.

I tried this with a queen angel in 1997 and froze fish and wrapped well and it thinned out and lost all its color by the time i got to a taxidermist and I remember the cost for mounting was crazy and i changed my mind