Making a fish skull

    Has anyone had success with removing the skin and flesh from a fish head to end up with a clean skull? A few years ago I tried leaving the head in water, the flesh came off but the bones separated, it was too much hassle to glue them together in the correct order. I'm thinking of boiling the head but I'm afraid the same thing will happen. Leaving the head for ants to clean leaves skin on.

    Never tried it but I have some carcasses buried deep in my yard if you ever want to dig them up and see. I doubt anything has eaten them but you never know, maybe you'll find those beetles that eat dead stuff.


    Maybe gently simmer it until all meat is cooked then pick off all of the meat/skin/organs. Boil only enough to break down the flesh not the cartilage seems like the key.

    Davie Peguero

    I think davie is correct..I have heard that you get off all the meat you can and then put the skull or skeleton in a pot and bring it to a boil (outside, it is supposed to stink) and then carefully pick it clean...if you cannot get everything, re-immerse it in boiling water for a few and then try again.

    i like to spear fish

    On the other hand, If it was that easy everyone would have a fish head in their house.


    I expect it to be very tedious and difficult if I ever do it. The difficulty of it is what gives value to the owner.

    Davie Peguero

    The cuda head?



    I'm looking forward to see what results you get.
    I have always wanted to do the same. Just always seemed like to much work.




    How about soak in hydrogenperoxide?

    i would stay away from solvents and corrosive soaking because so much of the fish is actually cartilage and you dont want to take soup bones out and have them melt.


    I wish you posted this yesterday cos I would have asked the guys from helter skeletons...they do some NICE work.


    also, i have always loved this piece from fishskulls


    i dont really smoke cigars but his makes me want to start...

    spray on hobbiest laquer....


    ..for model making and miniature scene making...both activities that produce really cool results and have very strange practitioners

    i like to spear fish

    I feel stupid, I've already attempted to do this a few years ago and now forgot what I learned. But I'll leave this thread up so someone can save themselves the trouble in the future.


    The boiling does the job quickly. The skin starts coming off immediately. The problem is that a lot of the flesh is now also cooked and ants will not eat it. So now you're committed to boiling everything off, and that's where the main problem comes in. The idea is to get rid of all flesh otherwise the thing will rot. But if you boil to the point of all the flesh coming off, so does whatever is holding the bones together. You're left with many pieces which will need to be glued together after being cleaned. There is no one main piece even if you stick to the bare minimum necessary to represent the skull well. Even the jaws are hinged along a center line and will require gluing. You'll need a lot of time and a good memory of that particular fish's anatomy. I just wanted a quick souvenir, not to invest hours and hours in such a thing. If you must have a fish skull I recommend you buy it. I have a hard time believing the skull people are selling actual skulls. There's just too much labor involved. I also got cut a few times from the Cuda teeth.


    Just to take some value from the experience, it was interesting to see the quantity of meat in the head, I always throw away cuda heads, and marvel again at the cuda's double mouth. My dogs were eating fish as I was moving along. There's a disgusting mess outside now which I really don't look forward to cleaning tomorrow morning.

    I never tried it with fish...but with lobsters i just leave the shell outside and let the ants and time do the rest. I remember seeing a fish dead in the shore that was down to his bones. I guess pull as much meat out and let it sit in the sun and let nature do his thing. I guess the ants will get it right. Don't let it sit in the sun all the time cause it will toast the cartilage and will weaken and break. and don't expose it. or a cat or dog will get it. of course it will stink so finding a good place away is a must..

    Quote from LunkerBuster

    cool, sounds like we need to build an ant farm out of soft sand with extra room for fish parts to be burried...simple solutiuon ;)


    Or just start a Dermestid beetle colony... lot more efficient. :)

    To buy Dermestid beetles.


    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300426517876&rvr_id=&crlp=1_263602_263622&UA=WXF%3F&GUID=8df32b341200a0e204022be2ffa4c18f&itemid=300426517876&ff4=263602_263622


    http://www.dermestidbeetlecolonies.com/


    Some good info from http://cmsc.minotstateu.edu/museum/dermestidcolony.html

    a friend of mine tried to prepare the skull of a 50pound barra last year. first he tried to remove as much meet and skin as possible with a knife. then boiling the skull, and after with a fine knife, brush and other fine tools working it again. the skull fall apart. i dont remember while or after cooking. but the thing was that the skull is been hold together by meet and skin. once you start removing that the skull will fall apart.
    he cleaned all the bonesparts and finally glued back together the skull. looks pretty nice.
    but hell of a puzzle-work.

    Ok first I'm not a spearfisherman although id love to try. I am an avid hook and line fisherman and i joined the forum solely to chime in on this thread. If you're not up to setting up a dermestid beetle colony and al that l Ive found that just hanging a head by some stout monofilament high enough from the ground to keep raccoons and other scavengers away and just letting the flies/maggots have their way with it works pretty well. They tend to stick to the softer flesh and leave the connective cartilage alone (Just check on it fairly regularly because once there is nothing else left they will start eating it) so you end up with the skull still articulated. just strip off any remaining skin and wash and maybe lightly bleach the skull (too high a bleach concentration will actually eat away at the bone) then set it in the sun for the cartilage to dry out solid like you would with a shark jaw and you should get a pretty good result without an inordinate amount of effort

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