# preserve dead fish?



## colorfulfishies

so my betta fish just died....my mom put hot water and killled it.but like everyone says its just a fish..........

is there anyway to preserve it?heres one of the answers i got on yahoo answers:
Yes ! very easy. First put it in vinegar for 24 hours. then remove the vinegar, put it on a piece of paper (donc worry if it smells or looks weird) then cover the fish with salt and leave it for 30 minutes. Then you can safely microwave the fish for one minute (it won't burn and it will NOT blow up) at full power. Finally freeze it for 24 to 48 hours maximum in the freezer. Then your beta will be perfectly preserve your beta in a box, no need for any liquid, will look beautiful for years and years, just don't play with it too much !


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## TaylorW

Umm, I don't think that would work, and I personally think it would be a bit weird.... But if you want to try it, have at it???

Sorry, to me it would be like having my dog get hit by a car, then stuffing him and sitting him in my living room :lol:

But hey, if you want to keep him, I guess you could try it?? I've never heard of fish being able to be preserved before. I did watch a tv show about taxidermists and they said on there that they couldn't preserve people's prize catch fish that they caught and they had to create replicas.


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## kfish

That doesn't sound very promising.... I'm pretty sure it WOULD blow up! Lol. I also don't understand the point of microwaving it or freezing it after all that. You'd be better off vinegaring and salting it then dunking it in clear epoxy or something.


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## bettafish15

I'm dying to know why you would want to preserve your dead fish. " What, are you going to hang it on your wall or something? @[email protected] Good luck with it though...


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## kfish

bettafish15 said:


> I'm dying to know why you would want to preserve your dead fish. " What, are you going to hang it on your wall or something? @[email protected] Good luck with it though...


DYING to know eeehehe :crazy:


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## TaylorW

I think you would be better off taking a photograph to keep as a memento.


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## bettafish15

TaylorW said:


> I think you would be better off taking a photograph to keep as a memento.


+1.


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## Bloodeath

thats actually a neat idea, but i'd want it in like a plastic casing (like you see those scorpions/spiders in the molds at every tourist trap in the world)

Too bad they decolor and get all icky when they die, or i'd definately get my prized CT male preserved when he died, (mainly so i can look back on him and smile when i have bred his babies, babies. and so forth)

but most likely too expensive for my book.

And to be quite honest, i would never microwave a dead fish (with the exception of like tv dinners) because for some reason that just seems like a bad idea.


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## kfish

You could probably also get an acrylic mold of some sort and get him encased in like a block of acrylic plastic.

This thread seems to discourage that, though, because it would probably still rot:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126426

They say you can also dry it with desiccant gels and grains, used to dry flowers. Or just leave it out to dry somewhere non-humid.


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## wallywestisthebest333

I was gonna suggest the resin route as well but had my doubts and thoughts of decomposition! XD Maybe you could take a picture and then lay it in the acrylic as it's casting? Or glue it to the back of a thin piece of acrylic? You could also sandwich it between two layers of acrylic and make a keychain or a pendant out of the pic! =]

just my thoughts though. =]

Here are some vids and a great channel on youtube about casting (made by the company that sells the products. =] )


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## Feral

I think the person who gave you that answer was messing with you and laughing the whole time they typed it too :roll:


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## LikeDiscoSuperfly

kfish said:


> DYING to know eeehehe :crazy:


BWHAHAHAHAHAHAA!! 
That is awesome. 

I am wondering why you want to as well? 
Good luck, it just seems a little wierd to me. 
I agree, you should keep a nice photo and then bury your fishy. You could plant a plant over it and then it's like your fish lives on. =]


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## bloo97

Wow. This is an interesting thread. What you could do is make a mold of him (Like a fossil), Or you can take a picture ofhim andput it in a special place.


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## doggyhog

I have seen one preserved in a jar, but it was at a lab that I saw it. I wouldn't recommend trying to do it yourself, but someone who's more experienced could do it.


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## kfish

bloo97 said:


> Wow. This is an interesting thread. What you could do is make a mold of him (Like a fossil), Or you can take a picture ofhim andput it in a special place.


Good idea! A plaster mold would be neat!


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## Josiee

Please do not feed the trolls :lol:


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## The Game

not too sure if itll work, have you seen preserved fish in museums? theyre in a liquid of some sort and they still look wrinkly. its an interesting youre trying to do but i think you may just end up with a big mess to clean up.


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## kfish

Josiee said:


> Please do not feed the trolls :lol:


That thought crossed my mind, as well, but he or she is pretty unresponsive for a troll, and previous posts aren't very troll-like. Who knows!

Amazingly, A LOT of people seem to have asked how to preserve a dead pet fish, upon Google searching.

For me, I'd rather frame a nice picture. I think even making a mold, although a neat idea, is kind of an insult to my fish (covering him in plaster and such). Not to mention, I dunno if I'd want to poke around with a dead body that much! I'd just give him a nice burial, personally, but I do think it's an interesting idea.


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## TaylorW

I don't think this is trolling, nothing insulting has been posted, and they haven't responded much. Trolls normally like to stir the pot a lot, and I haven't seen much stirring going on here!


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## Adastra

It can be difficult for new owners to find ways for disposing of the their fish's body in a dignified manner. I couldn't stand the idea of flushing or throwing their bodies away, or even burying them in the back yard where an animal could dig them up. Instead, I buried the fish in a flower pot and planted a lovely peace lily plant over his body. Whenever I see the lilies bloom, I think of him. 

It's a much nicer thing to keep around and a much less grim way to see death.. it's more like a rebirth when you see the plant bloom and grow.


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## TaylorW

Adastra said:


> It can be difficult for new owners to find ways for disposing of the their fish's body in a dignified manner. I couldn't stand the idea of flushing or throwing their bodies away, or even burying them in the back yard where an animal could dig them up. Instead, I buried the fish in a flower pot and planted a lovely peace lily plant over his body. Whenever I see the lilies bloom, I think of him.
> 
> It's a much nicer thing to keep around and a much less grim way to see death.. it's more like a rebirth when you see the plant bloom and grow.


Aww, that's beautiful Adastra! Maybe I will do that when my fish's time has come...


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## LikeDiscoSuperfly

Adastra said:


> It can be difficult for new owners to find ways for disposing of the their fish's body in a dignified manner. I couldn't stand the idea of flushing or throwing their bodies away, or even burying them in the back yard where an animal could dig them up. Instead, I buried the fish in a flower pot and planted a lovely peace lily plant over his body. Whenever I see the lilies bloom, I think of him.
> 
> It's a much nicer thing to keep around and a much less grim way to see death.. it's more like a rebirth when you see the plant bloom and grow.


We have something kinda like that right now. When I was 6/7 my cat got hit by a car, so we burried her in the back yard and my dad bought this really gorgeous plant and we planted it over her. Everytime we moved, we dug the plant up and it came with us. My dad has it over at his house now.


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## dramaqueen

I think this whole topic is rather gross.


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## Betta Slave

I completely agree; I don't really see why you would want to preserve your fish. Just my opinion though.


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## truthequalslies

It makes sense to me its kinda gross that ppl burn up their relatives an show them off in nice pretty jars or urns its a closure thing it makes ppl feel better about them being gone if their still kinda there


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## TaylorW

I kinda like the idea of making a memorial of your fish somehow. It's weird to preserve it, but if it makes the owner's loss easier, then why not?  If it works, it would be kinda neat...


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## Jupiter

Well, to each their own...we should disrespect OP's want to perserve his fish, even if some of us don't personally like the idea.

As for actually perserving fish, I have no idea apart from fromaldehyde. I'd definitely not go with the advice you were given...she just made it up, Ithink.


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## Alex09

You could always freeze it…


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