<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Hi Katja,<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The specimens would likely have been fixed (initial stage of preservation, from fresh material) in formaldehyde solution and then preserved in alcohol. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Auto-dilution of alcohol is well-known but trying to maintain the correct concentration of alcohol is much more difficult. There are instruments that can measure the precise concentration but these are quite expensive (Mettler Toledo and the Anton Paar DMA 135n).</div><div class="">Since most museums have large collection and few staff to maintain them, they tend to have their own protocols to short-cut this otherwise lengthy process. Most just top up the jars using a more concentrated level of alcohol (80%) and hoping that the overall concentration of each jar’s alcohol will end up around the 60-70% mark.</div><div class="">John Simmons, Ollie Crimmen and Andy Bentley will probably write something as they have had more experience in fish collections and dealing with fish oil contaminants as well.</div><div class=""><br class=""><div class="">
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">With all good wishes, Simon.</div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Simon Moore MIScT, RSci, FLS, ACR<br class="">Conservator of Natural Sciences and Cutlery Historian, </div></div></div></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><span><img apple-inline="yes" id="0D1A1F51-3EED-4B74-8FB5-D3036232DCBE" src="cid:C1E34A64-2782-4C13-9542-0187237C0047@home" class=""></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><br style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><a href="http://www.natural-history-conservation.com" class="">www.natural-history-conservation.com</a> </div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""></div>
</span></div>
<div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On 29 Sep 2018, at 15:33, Katja Seltmann <<a href="mailto:seltmann@ccber.ucsb.edu" class="">seltmann@ccber.ucsb.edu</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class="">We have just started caring for a small teaching collection of fish. The jars seem to be filled with alcohol, but I am assuming that the original specimens were preserved with formaldehyde. Many of the specimens need the fluid in the jars topped off, but I do not know what concentration of ethanol we should be using.<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Does anyone have a protocol for their collection they would be willing to share?</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Thank you,</div><div class="">Katja<br class=""><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div>-- <br class=""><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><br class="">--<br class="">Katja Seltmann, PhD<br class="">Katherine Esau Director, Cheadle Center for Biodiversity & Ecological Restoration</div><div class="">University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)<br class="">Harder South, Rm 1011</div><div class="">Santa Barbara, CA 93106<br class="">cell: (859) 537-9309<br class=""></div><div class=""><span style="font-size:12.8px" class=""><a href="http://codex.begoniasociety.org/" target="_blank" class="">http://codex.begoniasociety.org</a></span><br class=""></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
_______________________________________________<br class="">Nhcoll-l mailing list<br class=""><a href="mailto:Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu" class="">Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a><br class="">https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l<br class=""><br class="">_______________________________________________<br class="">NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of<br class="">Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose<br class="">mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of<br class="">natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to<br class="">society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.<br class="">Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.<br class=""></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></body></html>