I am a nubie myself but i made a tasty batch of spiced orange using real oranges. It came out great. Though the orange was eaten by yeast. I added oranges again in secondary and got the flavor i was looking for. Hope this helps.
I too am looking for information on isinglass. I am getting ready to bottle a mead and wonder how long will it take to settle? and if any is left in batch at bottling are there any ill effects?