Hello, guys! this is a 3d model of a bony fish, specifically a perch. A perch fish is a freshwater, carnivorous, ray-finned fish known for its stocky body, greenish-yellow color, and vertical black bars, often found in lakes and streams. this model was made for a class project and is about 5 inches long. I printed it using 3dhojr Silver PLA filament. it took about 2 hours to complete. the supports are a bit of a hassle to remove, but I put them there to keep the fish from swinging on the Y axis at higher layers (my printer at the time of posting is the A-1, a bedslinger). if you have a core-xy printer, please tell me wether you are able to print this without supports at the higher layers. Thank you so much for taking the time to look at my model! If there is any way that you see that I can improve, please tell me. I always want to be a better designer and appreciate the feedback. If there is enough interest, I would be open to publishing a colorized version as well.

 

I placed a photo with the parts labeled in the photos, but here is the key for the parts:

1: brain- the central processing unit of the fish. This is one of the more complex brains that we have studied this year in biology, not only performing simple functions anymore.

 

2. Spinal cord- the message-carrier of the fish’s nervous system- carries instructions from the brain to the parts of the body where they need to be, and carries input data from the nerves to the brain.

 

3. Kidney- fish kidneys primarily regulate internal water and salt balance rather than just removing metabolic waste, which is largely handled by the gills. 

 

4. Air bladder- a gas-filled organ that allows the fish to maintain buoyancy, allowing the fish to change depth without expending excessive amounts of energy.

 

5. Fish stomachs break down larger chunks of food and serve as a storage unit for it until it can be sent to the intestine, where it is broken down the rest of the way.

 

6. The gonad- the reproductive organs of a fish. In a female, this is an ovary. In males, these are testes.

 

7. Anus- the end of the intestine where undigested food comes out

 

8. Liver- the liver in a fish is the metabolic organ responsible for energy storage, nutrient metabolism, detoxification, and digestion. It produces bile to aid in fat breakdown, synthesises blood plasma protiens, and acts as a filter for blood.

 

9. Gall bladder- the organ that stores and concentrates the bile produced by the liver, essential for digesting and absorbing fats

 

10. Heart- the fish heart functions as a single-circut, low-pressure pump that drives deoxygenated blood to the gills for oxygenation before it circulates to the rest of the body. It has two chainbers, one atrium and one ventricle.

 

11. The gills in a perch extract dissolved oxygen form the water and expel carbon dioxide. The gills have a lot of folds and thus a lot of surface area. This helps the blood to get oxygen faster than it would otherwise.

 

12. Intestine- the organ responsible for breaking down food and absorbing nutrients into the bloodstream. It varies significantly between herbivores and carnivores. In herbivores, it is long and coiled to maximize nutrient extraction, but is short and straight in carnivores.

13. Pyloric ceca are small, blind-ended, finger-like pouches found at the junction of a fish’s stomach and intestine. They primarily serve to increase the surface area for nutrient absorption, secrete digestive enzymes, and assist in the digestion of proteins. 

 

14. The esophagus serves as a short, muscular tube that connects the mouth to the stomach