[Nhcoll-l] [MOGELIJK SPAM ! *****] Preserve fish specimens

[a.j.van_dam at lumc.nl]

Dear Maxine,

You could indeed do some experiments with glycerol to see if it would better preserve the colours. To avoid shrinkage, it is important that after fixation you transfer to glycerol by increasing concentration steps (e.g. 30-50-70%). A concentration between 65-70% should be sufficient to keep them well preserved and prevent fungal growth, provided that the RH in the room where the jars are kept does not exceed 70%.

You might also want to embed them after a complete glycerol transfer (30-50-70-80-90-95-100-100%) in polyester resin. Before embedding them, you should get most of the glycerol off the surface by using paper or cotton towels and cotton swabs.

Just before placing them in the unhardened polyester (3 layers: ground, middle embedding layer, and top layer), dip the specimens for about a minute or so in acetone and then cellosolve. This ensures that the polyester will bind to the skin of the fish.

Kind regards,

Dries


Andries J. van Dam<http://www.linkedin.com/in/andriesvandam> | curator-conservator

Anatomical Museum<https://www.lumc.nl/onderwijs/over-ons/anatomisch-museum/?setlanguage=English&setcountry=en> | Leiden University Medical Center | Building 3 (V3-32)
P.O.Box 9600 | 2300 RC Leiden | The Netherlands
Visiting address: Hippocratespad 21 | Tel: +31 (0)71 52 68356 | E-mail: A.J.van_Dam at lumc.nl<https://mail.lumc.nl/owa/redir.aspx?C=O7wgy__4qEq-bCzDQhMP7IpMG33lsdEIUTcpXTatWwljNFWdpbtnBKj-HeYnbumJrkd3hILExAk.&URL=mailto%3aA.J.van_Dam%40lumc.nl>

Scientific associate | Natural History Museum London | http://www.nhm.ac.uk<https://mail.lumc.nl/owa/redir.aspx?C=O7wgy__4qEq-bCzDQhMP7IpMG33lsdEIUTcpXTatWwljNFWdpbtnBKj-HeYnbumJrkd3hILExAk.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.nhm.ac.uk%2f>
________________________________
Van: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> namens Maxine C <cutraccimaxine at gmail.com>
Verzonden: vrijdag 16 september 2022 05:40:43
Aan: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Onderwerp: [MOGELIJK SPAM ! *****] [Nhcoll-l] Preserve fish specimens

Hi all,

I'm working on a research project at the University of Hong Kong on fish biodiversity. We would like to preserve very small cryptobenthic fish species ( 5 - 10 mm in length).
In the past, I've used formalin and ethanol 70% but I'd like to preserve the coloration.

Any advice? Would resin work?

Regards,

Maxine
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