How did Stores Transport Fish before Plastic Bags?

I was thinking about the plastic waste produced in the fish trade and trying to find solutions. In certain countries, some stores started using reusable plastic containers to transport fish from store to home.

In the early days of goldfish in the US they used metal barrels to transport fish on trains from farms to stores, but how did they transport the fish from the store to buyers' homes?

 

I'm about to date myself but since I started keeping fish, in the early 80's, I always remember bringing home fish in plastic bags. So that's 43 years of plastic bags...from little Mom & Pop stores to big chains to today's lfs.

I'd wager before plastic they were probably using pails of some sort/size. I could see this or reusable containers being problematic. Here's why....fish keeper uses said container for something toxic to fish, does not rinse out, and brings it to the store to cheerfully transport the next purchase home. Either during transport or shortly thereafter, said fish passes due to whaterver was in the pail. Now what?

Sure there has to be a better way but what exactly that is I don't have a good answer. Maybe the container thing works as a bring back type thing? Fish keeper brings back reusable container, store takes in the container, sanitizes it for use, and gives the purchase with a new(er) clean container to fishkeeper??

As part of this though, I could see the sanitizing cost and/or new container cost being passed back to the fish keeper. Someone has to pay as it won't be free. Whether that's an add-on at the register OR through increase in fish price is hard to say...

 

Little fish leashes.

 

Cylindrical waterproof cardboard containers (I’m old).

 

Maybe some type of canning jar? They've been around since the early 1900s I'm sure.

 

I'm struggling to find any articles or pictures anywhere on the web related to pet fish transportation.

Here's a picture I found which makes me question whether it would've been common to take home goldfish in a glass fish bowl.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2d/ba/32/2dba32511b438e052da3d15bdeda24b2.jpg

I should also note that my recent interest in aquarium (and pet) history is from my discovery of The Museum of Aquarium and Pet History, founded by Gary Bagnall of Zoo Med. The Museum of Aquarium and Pet History | He has a super interesting collection of just about everything fish and pet related.

I'm about to date myself but since I started keeping fish, in the early 80's, I always remember bringing home fish in plastic bags. So that's 43 years of plastic bags...from little Mom & Pop stores to big chains to today's lfs.

I'd wager before plastic they were probably using pails of some sort/size. I could see this or reusable containers being problematic. Here's why....fish keeper uses said container for something toxic to fish, does not rinse out, and brings it to the store to cheerfully transport the next purchase home. Either during transport or shortly thereafter, said fish passes due to whaterver was in the pail. Now what?

Sure there has to be a better way but what exactly that is I don't have a good answer. Maybe the container thing works as a bring back type thing? Fish keeper brings back reusable container, store takes in the container, sanitizes it for use, and gives the purchase with a new(er) clean container to fishkeeper??

As part of this though, I could see the sanitizing cost and/or new container cost being passed back to the fish keeper. Someone has to pay as it won't be free. Whether that's an add-on at the register OR through increase in fish price is hard to say...

Here's what Kolle Zoo in Germany is doing:
Mehrweg-Pfandeimer in der Aquaristik

 

I have been keeping fish since 1960. Plastic bags have been around since about 1965. Before then, fish were often sold in waxed paperboard boxes similar to ice cream cartons or the folded boxes often associated with Chinese takeout that are officially called an oyster pail.

 

folded boxes often associated with Chinese takeout that are officially called an oyster pail.

We called them chop suey pails. Specially folded waxed cardboard with a wire handle. They were used by some Chinese restaurants well into the 80s. My father's company made packaging machinery that made these, and he occasionally went to Chicago to the largest manufacturer of these pails in the country to fix their machinery.

I remember seeing them being used at the Woolworth's fish department. I think I even got a goldfish in one of these once.

 

yeah, it was waxed coated paper containers, like the straws and cups were.
pre-1900s I've no idea how they were doing it. i dont' suppose many were doing it, at least in the U.S.

We called them chop suey pails. Specially folded waxed cardboard with a wire handle. They were used by some Chinese restaurants well into the 80s. My father's company made packaging machinery that made these, and he occasionally went to Chicago to the largest manufacturer of these pails in the country to fix their machinery.

I remember seeing them being used at the Woolworth's fish department. I think I even got a goldfish in one of these once.

Woolworths, hahahaha anyone remember A&P food stores?

 

Woolworths, hahahaha anyone remember A&P food stores?

No, but I remember Skaggs Albertsons, and TG&Y (I worked at TG&Y for about three years).