Fish flesh deterioration?
Hi guys,
A weird question and I wasnt even sure what category to put it in, but has anyone ever melted the flesh off a fishes head in order to preserve the fishes skull and jaws.
A mate of mine has a collection of jack, barra, snapper and mackeral jaws on his desk at work and they look awesome. He told me he lopped the head off and put the head in an air tight container with napi-san and hot water and it reacts and eats away the flesh. Other people put the head on an ants nest
Has anyone ever done this and what method have you used. I think it would be a neat little hobby to catch a descent fish and keep its jaws as a trophy. Im testing this with a coral trout head i caught the other day. I have it in a container with a heap of napisan and hot water but it doesnt seem to be doing much. Do you think the water needs to be changed regularly to ensure it stays hot or will it still react when the water is normal temp?
Sorry for the weird question but can anyone help
aalfred
Posts: 669
Date Joined: 13/06/09
I used to boil them in a pot
I used to boil them in a pot of water with a bit of washing powder. After this you need to dry them in sunlight or under a strong lamp. No oven! The next step would be glueing it back together, for bigger jaws it helps if you put it back together with the help of a fine wire. Then I use a neutral coloured 2 part resin to preserve it. The resin and the fine wire you can buy in hobby shops like riot art and craft.I got the best results with Craft Smart Liquid Gloss a two part resin.
Thats a rough estimate of things you have to do . If you want a bit more info you can pm me.
Cheers
Seb
Lukeyboy83 (not verified)
Posts: 16
Date Joined: 01/01/70
Hey Seb thanks for all that
Hey Seb thanks for all that really great info mate. I really appreciate it. I posted this on another forum as well and a guy said "DO NOT BOIL" as the teeth will fall out haha. I think I might leave it on an ants nest for a while
Cheers mate
aalfred
Posts: 669
Date Joined: 13/06/09
Thats right the teeth will
Thats right the teeth will fall out . but i found you get the most of the flesch of that way and i just glue them back in. in smaller jaws that could be a problem of course.
cheers
tim-o
Posts: 4657
Date Joined: 24/05/11
Google maceration (bone) or I
Google maceration (bone) or I suppose let the flys (maggots) do the work then bleach the bones.
I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.
alfred
Posts: 3097
Date Joined: 12/01/07
The fly and maggots method
The fly and maggots method provides heaps of gardie bait.
Lukeyboy83 (not verified)
Posts: 16
Date Joined: 01/01/70
Cheers tim-o
Cheers tim-o