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Er, real skull as a decoration?

2K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  LizzyP 
#1 ·
Ok, so this might be a little...off...to some people, but whatever.

I have a 10 acre horse farm, so naturally there are other inhabitants that wander around the property like fox, skunks, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, etc. I found a skull of an animal some time ago, and it has just been sitting outside for the past few months. Could it be aquarium safe? Could I make it aquarium safe? I'm not sure if I even would want it in my aquarium, just kind of thinking out loud.
 
#4 ·
Source of calcium; as it naturally decomposes (and it will), it will raise calcium ion concentration in the water, producing hard water.

The question is: at what rate will it decompose-- which I'm not sure anyone has an answer for.
 
#5 ·
That would be an interesting idea though, although I can see what Olympia said happening.
 
#6 ·
As someone who has boiled down far too many animal carcasses in her day, let me tell you that it is really hard to get rid of all the bits that will decay and cause ammonia spikes. The only really good way to get a clean skull or bones is to soak it in chemicals, like borax - which would probably not be good to add to your tank. You might try boiling it and then letting it sit in water for a few weeks. Bones also contain bone grease, which can be really gross and I'm not sure if it will cause issues with the ph of your water or not. It would be an interesting experiment though, but I would hesitate to do it with fish! Oh and btw, I swear I'm not creepy I just have a degree in anthropology and I deal with zooarchaeology a lot which involves many many dead animals :p
 
#8 ·
it might be done if you boiled it, let some dermestid beetles go at it to get the remaining chunks off, then clear-coated it with aquarium safe clear paint, and let it dry for at least 48 hours. or you could get a fake molded skull that's already aquarium-safe and probably designed specifically for fish to swim in and out of.
 
#9 ·
Swimming in and out of it.. excellent point there. depending on the age of the skull, and how quickly it was prepared, it could splinter badly and have really sharp edges. If it is fresh and isn't allowed to dry out before it is defleshed and has all the cartilaginous material removed, then it will not shatter and will be well conditioned with bone grease.
 
#10 ·
First thing I thought of was sharp pieces in the holes. But if you combine a lot of the methods here, first let beetles clean it, then boil and bleach it (file off any sharp edges), soak it for a few weeks in plain water and prime then dry it and paint it with aquarium paint and then it could be safe?
 
#11 ·
even then i wouldn't put it in my tanks...there's just too many variables at play to be sure it's safe. if your heart's set on having it as a tank ornament, you might wanna incorporate it into an exterior theme, on the hood, or as part of a diorama AROUND the tank, but not inside it.
 
#12 ·
You can put dern near anything in a tank as long as it's done properly. I have deer antlers in mine and did nothing more than clean them real well. With a skull I would imagine it will break down sooner as the the bones are rather thin and porous. You could boil it in a peroxide/water solution which will clean it very well and turn it white{tons of info on how to properly do it...simply google it...lots of info to be had on taxidermy sites as well...google "European skull mount"...you could then coat the cleaned skull in some sort of aquarium safe epoxy...after it dries it'll be plenty safe for years and years.
 
#17 ·
Well, hm. Only reason I'm thinking about this is because I hunt and work at a deer processing shop, so I'm around skulls and bones and all that fun stuff a lot.

As someone mentioned before, they had antlers in their tank. That would be fine, because they are solid. Bones, yes are solid, but they are porous. And, depending on how long it's been decomposed, buried in the soil, exposed to the elements, etc. could make it more fragile. I know my deer skulls in my room are VERY fragile, even after being buried in the ground or having the "remains" eaten off by bugs, they still can splinter.

Something else I'd be concerned with, and this is all depending on how big/what kind of animal it came from is size. My rule when buying aquarium decorations is if I can't fit my thumb through all the holes, my betta can't fit either. If it's a fox skull, I don't think betta's could swim through it without it getting stuck OR cutting his/her fins. You can't file down ALL the sharp edges on/in the skull. One, you can't reach them all; two, you'll break it with too much pressure. Once a bone dries out (especially in the skull) it becomes very brittle.

This is just me speaking from experience. If you really wanted a skull in your tank, I suggest buying an aquarium safe one. I know you can get some pretty cool looking ones at Petco and Petsmart. Just to be on the safe side.
 
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