I've been trying my hand at this, so I was pleased to learn that SDSU would be on hand at the conference, demonstrating the technique.

My question involves transporting the scales to Big Cedar.... I have them in an airtight plastic vial, should I add some pond water to the vial also, or will the scales still be acceptable even if they dry out?

I'd add water to keep them wet.

So you're going to make it? Hooray!!

Yep! Leaving in the morning as soon as we get the kids on the bus...

I like the water idea also.....

They will be fine in the vial. At school we would put them in small coin envelopes.

Okay so I don't need the water..shows what I know! Thanks Chris!

Maybe laminated when fresh would be good..

Per Bob Lusk,

"Or, if you don’t want to sacrifice a fish, collect some scales from the lateral line, five or six of them, put them in a Ziploc bag, weigh and measure your fish and they’ll give you an idea of how old your fish is"

Spark Plug -- bring them dry. Look for Jason Breeggemann and others at the fish aging booth!

Will do Dave...Thanks!

No, thank you. I found Jason down the hall, and he was excited to hear that there was excitement about the fish aging.

I wish I could make the conference. This technique has me interested as well as I'm sure its easier than extracting the fish's ololith.

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthread...true#Post130605



Aging methods - get the article from Dave and read it. MMorgan is right about scales in the south - it will work but is hard and not accurate without help. Pics are in the article and provided by Dave Willis.



scale



otolith location



whole otolith aging



cracked otolith aging




http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=214360&page=1

Here is a link to the fish aging article.

http://www.sdstate.edu/nrm/outreach/pond/upload/Fish-Aging-May-Jun-2006.pdf

Under the category of 'Why didn't I think of that', the folks at the fish aging booth used a microfiche reader to take a look at my scales. It just so happens that I have an old reader gathering dust from the good ole' days of parts lookup, and I drug it out this afternoon and gave it a new lease on life.

Thanks go to Jason, for taking the time to explain as well as show me the technique. And, while I already knew the age of the fish the scales came from, he didn't.... and he nailed it. Reading scales appears somewhat interpretive, rather than exacting, so I was very impressed with this young man's abilities. I hope at least some of what he demonstrated sticks with me.

Pics from my efforts this afternoon:

What was his conclusion ? It is much harder with southern fish as due to a lack of a cold winter sometimes rings don't form or they are so slight as to be very hard to see.

Sorry...that pertinent information should've been included in my previous post! Six years old. This fish is a dinosaur among my HBG, it was in my first batch of fish from before my time at Pondboss. It's growth suffered from improper management and lack of knowledge on my part.

I would have said 5 but you are right it takes practice to get them right. I have often missed on my interpretation.

Tony:

Thanks for posting that info on the card reader. I missed that, and I think I'll be surfing e-bay.............

Do fish grow scales back if they lose some?

Yes they do. Or at least HBG do!

+1

Sparkplug - great idea and adaption of the microfiche reader. I missed spending some time talking with you after we met briefly at PBV. I often spend too much time talking to too few people and don't socialize enough with others - my bad habit that I can't seem to overcome.

When collecting the scales for aging it is usually best to get them just above the lateral line and just past or at the end of the pectoral fin.

Thanks for the advice on the scale procurement Bill. I'm glad I got to meet you, but sorry our paths didn't converge again...

I also never managed to meet Ewest

Me to Sprkplug.