Preparing fish specimens for a single tank

A single tank will be more work than jars, but it's a way you can display your specimens to better advantage. It'll be easier to compare identification characteristics if all the fish are lined up. For example, you'll be able to see the different number and position of the fins.

Dave B offered me some advice on how to set the fish into position when fixing them in formalin. I'm not a fan of formalin, but I think his method might be transferrable. I think it wouldn't hurt to try setting the fins into position while you're pickling them in ethanol - then they might be more inclined to stay in that position in your final display.

He suggests using a flat piece of cork or polystyrene (or similar plastic sheet), laying the fish on top, and using pins around the body to secure the fish in place. Entomology pins are good (I have some of these you can borrow) - they won't rust. You can angle the pins over the fish to stop it floating away (but be careful you don't distort the body too much or the grooves of the pins will be permanent).

Then use more pins to open and display the fins - you can make small holes through the fin rays and they won't show later.

You'd need to weigh down the cork / plastic sheet so the fish lay beneath the ethanol solution.

I wonder if you could also utilise some expanded plastic sheet to make a background inside the tank, to pin your fish against for the final display. Perhaps you could excavate a fish-shaped hollow to help support the specimens?

CC image by JD Wang

I can't seem to find any photos to illustrate this yet. So in the meantime I will have to leave you with another fish-art collaboration called 'Gyotaku' - a traditional Japanese method of printmaking which literally uses a fish (don't say you've learnt nothing today). This video by Heather Fortner shows how she pins out the fish in preparation for inking - much the same process as you might want to use yourself, so could be worth watching.