Preserving Fish??

[jbarr]

Hi, I was just curious,

But does Isopropyl alcohol (Rubbing alcohol) have the same preservational properties as formaldehyde?

A fish of mine passed away recently; with no trace of disease or physical ailments. A shame really, he seemed to be in good shape. It was a rubberlip pleco, 2.5" in length, i found a perfect sized jar. I filled it with 70% Isopropyl alcohol, in which I submersed the pleco.

Don't look at me too weirdly, i find biology very interesting.

Will he hold up? Or will he start to rot anyways.

Also, has anyone else done anything like this?? Heh

 

[7Enigma]

I've heard of 70% isopropyl alcohol for preserving, but generally only to cure the animal (24hour soak or less). Then it is dried fully. I do not know if it can be preserved long term this way.

 

[Mosaic]

I'd like to know this too. I have a tetra species that there is very little information about. When they go, I'd like to preserve them so they can be dissected and figure out the sexes and otherwise examined.

 

[JDogg]

i believe wood and grain alcohol (methanol and ethanol ) can be used to preserve specimens for dissection... "Rubbing Alcohol" is a mixture of ethanol and water (i think the % alcohol varies by brand though) so it would make sense i think that you could use it to preserve your fish, but you may need to add something else to the mix...

 

[petunia100]

At the university where I work, I believe they use 95% ethanol in the preservation of their fishes. Many places use ethanol instead of formaldehyde, not only is it less noxious, but I believe that ethanol is not as detrimental to the DNA of the preserved specimen as formaldehyde.

 

[jbarr]

Hm, interesting. I showed it to my bio teacher, she said I could ask someone in the science dept. if I could use some formaldehyde.
Ethanol? can that be bought at... A grocer? Pharmacy? Anyone know where?

 

[crazyred]

The liquor store!! Everclear is currently available for purchase and it's 95% ethanol....strongest made for consumption. I hope you're 21. If not, send someone and see if they believe you're going to use it to preserve your fish.

 

[petunia100]

If they have formaldahyde in your science dept they should have ethanol. It's pretty standard in biology and chemistry classrooms.

 

[jbarr]

Everclear! I thought it might've been that. It recalls to memory a night a few years back, buddy of mine, oh boy. Anyways,

I think it would be interesting to preserve fish with sentimental value. Or just cool fish that had passed away. That is, of course, if there are no visible/physical ailments or injuries...

Though some call me crazy, it's interesting as hell.

 

[toddnbecka]

I have a red-bellied piranha thay was the victim of a New Year's Eve party (beer in the tank) about 25 years ago. I put the deceased fish in a plastic container of rubbing alcohol for a couple days, then dried it out. It's in a Riker mount somewhere in the attic, still looks the same as the day it was placed in there.

 

[Mosaic]

When my ctenopoma died, I just dried him without using any preservatives. He looks a little shriveled but is otherwise ok. Does using alcohol make a difference in the final appearance?

 

[toddnbecka]

Not sure about appearance, but it is better for larger fish. The alcohol will prevent the insides from decaying before they dry.

 

[Toirtis]

Unfortunately, alcohols do not make the best long-term preservatives, as will cause eventual fading of the specimen.