# Trasporting fish home via alternative modes of transportation



## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Ok, I'm looking for some ideas on how to transport fish home via alternative means of transport (ie. bicycle/walking/bus/train/stakeboard/rollerblading/subway) tho for me primarily by bike suggestions are preferred but also list some for other modes of transportation.

I ride my bike by choice then drive whenever I can. I can't really stand being in the metal box and often in my area I can advance about 1-3km before that car I passed a few mins ago catches up to me. Now the roads arn't always the smoothest as the areas I'm travelling to arn't always like a smooth asphalt trail but I do have front and seat shocks on my bike. 

My thinking and I'm sure this will apply to many of the methods above is to carry a insulated bag hot/cold bag and put in a small ice pack with a thin towel over top of it to buffer the ice pack from directly touching the fish bag. While I'm sure this will work for keeping the fish alive on those 15min - 2hr trips back home (I've done the insulated bag w/ ice + towel 2 times before with time delay home of ~1-2hrs in ~23C temps in a car and all the first survived), I would like to know about the bumps on the road while biking. 

I've thought about using panniers on my bike as when you're riding in hot temps a backpack does not breath well those high moisture days. Tho I'm wondering how the sloshing of the water will effect the fish? 

Where I live I make better ground on the bike (or car) then the Markham bus to the Wallys at Bayview & Elgin Mills or the Petsmart at Hwy 7 & Hightech or Hwy 7 & Woodbine or Lucky's at Steeles & Kennedy. The rides tend to take ~45-50mins one way (to the Wallys, 20-35 grade hills, ~12km/one way) tho. In comparison going to MEC.ca downtown I can do 22km in ~1h10mins top gear with ~20-45 grade hills)

I've thought about a towel to help cushion the bumps for the fish. A thought came to mind about using those clear produce bags and blowing them up to make a small air cushion in the pannier or bag. Anyone here into mechanics or mechanical design? Another thought was a 'anti-jitter box' on floating springs and such and use a bike trailer. Think of that Sealy bowling ball mattress commercial is what I'm thinking off for some cushioning.


Anyways thanks in advance for ideas.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Oh for the curious the fish those two times was from Petsmart while I was driving. The fish were Rosy Red Minnows (5 and in a large water bag) and a otocinclus (regular bag)


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

Bubble wrap?


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

I don't think the bumps on the road are what you need to worry about, the forces of the bumps on a fish underwater (even in a bag) are going to be a lot less than what we feel sitting on any surface, padded or not. Water and fish don't compress and feel compression under bumpy conditions like our hindquarters do in a car or on a bike.

I think what you need to worry about is the sloshing about of the water in the bags. I'd suggest the "motor" of any human powered vehicle, as you lean side to side, backwards/forwards to generate speed is going to add a lot more motion and stress than the bumpy road will. Being tossed up and down from side to side in the water as you cycle, board etc is going to be much more stressful than bumping vertically over curbs, cracks and potholes.

Unless you can devise some sort of fish safe container that has anti-slosh dampers (read, time consuming, requiring calculations and testing and possibly expensive) a longer in terms of time, well insulated and smooth ride on a bus in a bag inside a styrofoam or bag cooler is going to be better for the fish than a bicycle ride any day.


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

Mr Fishies said:


> I think what you need to worry about is the sloshing about of the water in the bags. I'd suggest the "motor" of any human powered vehicle. . . . well insulated and smooth ride on a bus in a bag inside a styrofoam or bag cooler is going to be better for the fish than a bicycle ride any day.


I agree, and I'd also add that if you are securely holding the container the fish are in, you will automatically reduce the jostling through the adjustment of your body to the movement of the vehicle.

Good luck!


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

If you use Kordon breather bags, there is no sloshing, as there is no air in the bags. I would not put ice in with them though. An insulated conveyance should be all that is necessary.


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

BillD said:


> If you use Kordon breather bags, there is no sloshing, as there is no air in the bags. I would not put ice in with them though. An insulated conveyance should be all that is necessary.


Very cool. Thanks for pointing that out. I've heard mention of them before, but never looked into it and didn't think of them. They may be a bit pricey...possibly hard to find, but I would have to throw my hat into this ring if you really want to travel human powered and carry fish.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Thank you for the replies people.

I'm trying to get a more active life and biking definately helps as being in the car I can't add to my fitness (other then finger exercises  ). Now I'm not fat at all and probably got the trimness of those Tour De France riders but definately not thier internal fitness engine as I've got the fitness of a geek right now. Also trying to work on being more fit to try things out like a 12-24hr race.  

Does anyone have a link on those Kardon bags? Also not long ago I saw something on the Discovery Channel's 'How It's Made' show showing how the petrol tank in cars are made with the anti-slosh/buffering lines. That thought just came to me while rereading the post and replies. I may replicate that design using a food-safe grade container and siliconing some plexiglass as channel buffers. Only thing is to get the store to give me more tank water that's all.

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I think it would work on that design. Anyone work mechanical design here?


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Huh, that looks like a good fish death trap. heh. Sorry, just thinking out loud.

Let me see if I can find the Kordon bag link for you. ....
OK, found it:
Around $8 for 25 back. Shipping will cost an arm and a leg (That was 5 years ago, things might have change)

http://www.novalek.com/kordon/breathing_bags/index.htm
These are the newer ones, I don't like it because they have printing at every inch of the bag. Kind of annoying. The old ones does not have that much prints, so you can actually see the fish.

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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

That drawing did not come out that well. The message board formatted it s it looked like small Betta cubes. I meant more a alternating up and down divider so water flows all around to keep the sloshing down.. let me see if I can draw something up on the computer.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

AquaNeko said:


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> ...


I cant really figure out how this design works, and more importantly, how it would not hurt the fish. The anti-slosh mechanism in the oil tanks rely on the idea what the kinetic energy of the sloshing will be lost while hitting/passing through the "divider", but if you just put this into a bag/tank, the fish would inevitably hit the dividers. Kinda like hard steels poles in the middle of a bouncy castle....if you will.

But other than the kordon bags, I am stumped on an efficient yet slosh free technique while biking.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Hitch said:


> I cant really figure out how this design works, and more importantly, how it would not hurt the fish. The anti-slosh mechanism in the oil tanks rely on the idea what the kinetic energy of the sloshing will be lost while hitting/passing through the "divider", but if you just put this into a bag/tank, the fish would inevitably hit the dividers. Kinda like hard steels poles in the middle of a bouncy castle....if you will.
> 
> But other than the kordon bags, I am stumped on an efficient yet slosh free technique while biking.


Check previous post.

<--------

The message board formated my text drawing wrong thus why you see it like prison bars. I uploaded a drawing of the design.

Another way I was thinking was fill a backpack full of water but then that's still 8lb per gallon. >_<; and I doubt a LFS would give you 1 gal of water without you tipping in extra in the hat. Er.. obviously the backpack will be lined before filling with water otherwise it would drain like a schive (sp?).


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

I would still worry about that design, the fish will still hit themselves in dividers. So I would not try that unless you have a very huge device carrying very small fish. :/

As for the backpack idea, you would run into the same problems as the normal bags--sloshing. Not the mention the problems with weight and the fact that you can only put one type of fish in a backpack of water.


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Hitch said:


> I would still worry about that design, the fish will still hit themselves in dividers. So I would not try that unless you have a very huge device carrying very small fish. :/
> 
> As for the backpack idea, you would run into the same problems as the normal bags--sloshing. Not the mention the problems with weight and the fact that you can only put one type of fish in a backpack of water.


Well it's a personal challenge I wanted to take to see how well I can go without the car. I figure anything ~15-20km range I can do by bike given my training riding before. Just got to think some transportation challenges like this out. I don't want to quit and take the car when I'm sure there has to be a way.

I may end up getting one of those cereal plastic food safe containers and ask the LFS to put the fish in. Add a battery air pump with a extra hole in that container to stick another air tube in and put on a volume controller dial to help bleed the air out then having the container over pressurize and blow it's top.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Take the car or bus when getting fish - your fish will suffer far more than you will benefit from the exercise.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

I agree with ameekplec. It's nice that you're thinking inventively about fish safety, but you're missing the entire point. If you are really in it for the fish, then driving would've been the safest bet.

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