Fish Taxidermy

You may be surprised to find that almost all taxidermists find that doing fish is harder than any other type of animal out there. The fact that they are smaller than various other types of animals doesnt seem to matter. There is a great deal of work that goes into making sure that all of the colors used for it come out looking like they should. Fish have many colors on them and that means you will need to really know what you are doing.

A taxidermy fish needs to look real, not like a three dimensional painting that is on the wall. Even if the original skin of the fish is used, most of the color quickly comes out of it due to it drying out. This will result in various brown spots forming on it. They will be very noticeable on the final project so they have to be taken care of during the process.

It can take approximately twenty hours per fish to complete the painting on a taxidermy project. It also takes more skill than one many want to have to put out to complete the project. Those that go about getting a fish processed in this manner need to understand what they will be paying for. They need to realize that they are going to be paying for the hours of time the individual spends to tend to all of these various details.

For most of the types of fish mountings, all of the skin has to be removed from it. There are various ways in which it is preserved and then used again. Not all fish are right for this type of mounting though. The taxidermist will be able to tell you if they can do it for your project or not. They fins and the tail can usually be left in tact during this process for most types of warm water fish.

It is almost impossible to use the real skin of any saltwater fish though. Instead they have to be recreated with a variety of materials. A very good taxidermist though will be able to make them look just like the original though. Many of them are made from a type of fiberglass that is durable and easy to work with.