Abstract
Fish produced carbonates, or ichthyocarbonates, are largely underrepresented in the inorganic carbonT cycle calculations. This paper analyzed the biological layer’s effect on the dissolution rates of ichthyocarbonates made by the Gulf Toadfish and the Japanese Flounder. I outlined the physiology behind how carbonates are made by fish and the purpose they serve in osmoregulation. Then, through a bleaching protocol, bleached collected carbonates before aerating them and performing a manual titration to calculate the dissolution rate. The findings were that bleaching ichthyocarbonates and removing the biological layer greatly affected the dissolution rate and the biological layer showed to be valuable in helping the ichthyocarbonates sink through the ocean layers. These results shed more light on how these ichthyocarbonates will fit into the inorganic carbon cycle as a whole.