got a "monster" aquarium fish, want to mount him when he dies

metaldonnieg · 12-27-2006, 05:46 PM

I have an adult albino tiger oscar cichlid similar to the ones i'm going to put pictures of at the bottom of this post. I'm very proud of this fish as I've raised him from a fry and he was my first successful large aquarium venture. I wish to have him mounted, if possible, upon his death. I just want to find out if it were possible before I got my hopes up.

He's less than a year old and lip to fin tip he's about 10 to 11 inches long at the moment. They have pretty long lifespans when kept healthy and I expect him to grow several more inches.

Is it possible to mount fish that aren't common, everday sporting species?

please note these pictures are NOT my actual fish, just some of the same species I pulled from google.

nctaxi · 12-28-2006, 01:40 PM

Maybe not a skin mount but you could have a quality reproduction made of him. If I remember cichlids are fresh water, so you should be able to have it mounted. I know that sound contradicting but I am not a fish person, I send my fish out to a wholesaler.

Alex The Hawk · 12-28-2006, 06:45 PM

Yes I do oscars skin mounts all the time, they have just about taken over of all waterways in South Florida
so I get them almost daily, they mount very nicely.
We get them up to 3 lBS

metaldonnieg · 12-29-2006, 12:19 AM

Ah, that's good news. In that case, what do I need to do if and when he passes? I've had a fish mounted for me as a gift (my father was more excited than I was about the catch) but never handled it myself.

Alex The Hawk · 12-30-2006, 04:26 PM

Get a video on mounting fish.
Wasco taxidermy supply have them

metaldonnieg · 12-30-2006, 10:57 PM

Oh, I didn't mean I wanted to do it myself, I was asking what should I do between the time I find him deceased and when I take him to the taxidermist.

Alex The Hawk · 01-02-2007, 03:42 PM

Wrap well in plastic and freeze it.

madabula · 01-18-2007, 08:50 AM

A combination of skin mounting and freezedrying works great with most fish.

Visit www.mikescustomtaxidermy.comlook under mounts -fish and freezedrying-pets to see some samples.

Mike

Rebel Hog · 01-18-2007, 10:04 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: madabula

A combination of skin mounting and freezedrying works great with most fish.

Visit www.mikescustomtaxidermy.comlook under mounts -fish and freezedrying-pets to see some samples.

Mike

Enjoyed all your sites and Especially the "Hog Snapper"!
Also Liked the Full Mount of the Wild Boar!

Excellent Work!

TX_Hoghunter · 01-19-2007, 11:41 AM

That fish should live for 10 years or so. The problem that you will run into is if you wait until he dies on his own he will probably be in rough shape. I am a discus breeder and have seen loads of my old breeders get old. If you want him to look good you would need to end his life at about age 5.

-john