# deer skull?



## cichlids rock (May 1, 2008)

hello i was walking through the woods with my girls and found a deer skull so i was wondering if you could use it for a decoration in a tank or would it break down and leave the water quality go haywire? any information would be greatly appreciated.


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## xalow (May 10, 2007)

Bone has phosphorus as a main part of its chemical structure, im not sure if it would release in the tank though if it did it wouldn't be good. Even if it is completely clean and devoid of external tissue, there may still be bone marrow inside which I have no idea what it is made of.

Sounds like a cool idea, you could have a western themed tank if someone knowledgable chimes in and says its ok to do this. I think a followup question could be if tumbleweed is aquarium safe.


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## cichlids rock (May 1, 2008)

tumbleweed ..lol whats next some saloon doors and cowboy boots..lmao


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## Evo (Jul 23, 2006)

not to sure if the other products and compounds in the bone would have an effect. some elements have Ba, Br, Ca, Fe, Sr and Zn


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## cichlids rock (May 1, 2008)

thanks for the response i have heard of other people with skulls in their tanks and was told to boil them just waiting for more input before i go ahead with it. as always i appreciate the advice


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## IrkedCitizen (Apr 26, 2007)

You should boil and bleach it and stick it in a 10g tank with some neons or some other inexpensive fish. And just see what happens over time.


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## cichlids rock (May 1, 2008)

thanks i really appreciate all the input.


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## Ispintechno (Mar 27, 2008)

IrkedCitizen said:


> You should boil and bleach it and stick it in a 10g tank with some neons or some other inexpensive fish. And just see what happens over time.


 :lol:


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## Guest (May 29, 2008)

Take it to a taxidermist and have them sterilize it and plastic coat it or something...


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## cichlids rock (May 1, 2008)

this what i like about this forum a lot of valuable information....thanks to everyone who has replied so far


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## aaxxeell (Jul 28, 2007)

yeah *** allways thought of creating a 'grave-yard' tank with ribcages and skulls that mbuna can swim in and outta...
sounds kinda macabre' but if u bleach the bones and give them a coat of clear polyurethane sealant i reckon it'd work


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## cichlids rock (May 1, 2008)

thanks i just thought its be kinda of cool in that errie kind of way. i have been told itd be creepy which just made me say no itd be cool. thanks for the info


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## Honeyrobber (Sep 24, 2005)

I have a deer skull with antlers firmly atached that my dogs brought home. Bow season last fall. I plan on it going in my 280 gallon plywood tank(did not make it myself but will be making some soon). I find animal remains in the local rivers being colonised by fish from time to time. One must is the brain needs to be removed. I found a colony of ants and placed the skull next to the hill. The next day ants were all over the skull cleaning any left over flesh. The neck bone that was stuck on the skull was removed by the ants eating what flesh was left over including the brain by crawling in and out through the spinal colum hole. It is sitting on my porch now with no smell. I will not boil it as boiling softens the bone. With hard water and adding cichlid salts to further harden the water I do not see the bone leaching nutrients. Ca is the principle element in bone so in hard water the calcium will not disolve readily. I do plan on a bleaching the skull and giving it a couple weeks to air dry. Bleach will totally evaporate the clorine given some time.


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

I have a beaver skull in my 10 gallon with some multies. I didn't boil it, all I did to treat it was leave it outside to dry for a month and bleached it via the sun. Seems to have no effect on my fish, the multies, as always, have bred like crazy and have colonized the skull.


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## xalow (May 10, 2007)

> ribcages and skulls that mbuna can swim in and outta


awesome idea aaxxeell.

Does anyone have any idea what happens to bones that are left in acidic water? I know it sounds stupid and my own question makes me want to say "acid dissolves things" but on the other hand I know that a lot of acidic peat bogs have mummies preserved in them from that still have hair and tattoos ect. so I'm not entirely sure how water chemistry is a factor.

Darkside, could we possibly have picture of the beaver skull tank? Since you have had success in what I assume is rather high ph water it makes it seem like this is a really awesome idea. Having multies swimming through eye sockets must be really fun to watch.


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## cichlids rock (May 1, 2008)

wow didnt realize so many people would share the same ideas and opinions i think ill have to bleach and let it sit outside. thought it would be cool to see them swim through the eyesockets as well. need to go into the woods and find the rest of the skeleton. was thinking about drilling out the spine and making caves out of it and some arches out of the rib bones. thanks for all the replies.


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## Nutty4Mbunas (Mar 27, 2008)

Personally I'm not into that bones and skull look. I don't criticize you for having it either. But it was a very interesting topic and its great to see the responses from all the great knowledgeable people in here. Good luck and post a picture when you finally get it all done.


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

Sure, I'll take a couple of pictures. I have a feeling that bone left in acidic water will leach calcium carbonate and slowly raise the ph and hardness, which is why I have no problem with the water parameters.


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## ArcticCatRider (Jul 13, 2007)

Well, this is a good idea.I read 1 post on here a few months back, and the guy stated that the bone had some effect on his water?It was a bear skull, he said,it was only in the tank like 2 days or something, and it killed his fish.
But I reckon sunbleaching the deer skull, and setting it out where ants/beetles and other insects, or crawlers could clean it off, and then just rinse it in water, and maybe scrub with a soft/fine brush could do it.
But even doing the above, and covering the skull in epoxy or clear coating with somethin'would be alright.Just not something that'd give the skull a 'shiny look.


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## Hermitkid84 (Jan 24, 2007)

I have had a large top of a femur from either a moose or large deer sitting in my african tank for almost a year now... All I did was boil it for a few minutes, there doesn't seem to be any negative side effects and when I stand it up in the back it allows me to stack rocks to my desired height!


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## LJ (Sep 12, 2007)

Alright so when are we gonna see some pictures of "skull tanks"....I'm pretty anxious


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## aaxxeell (Jul 28, 2007)

c'mon lets see some pictures guys


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## myselfdotcom (Sep 19, 2006)

gothic theme lol **** you goth people!


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## cichlids rock (May 1, 2008)

no not goth just creative in a twisted way..lol


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

I've seen fake animal skulls for tanks in the LFS so it's something alot of people must like. I think I'd rather buy one and KNOW it wouldn't hurt my fish. I have a goreous piece of wood that one of my daughters brought home from the woods and put in my flower bed. I keep thinking how nice it would look in a fish tank but I'm afraid to try it  .


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