Stores worth a visit in/around Toronto?

[Viktor Jarikov]

Just giving my other cat some web time.

a-ah, an equal opportunity feline owner... how sweet

he seems to like that pond link you posted

to Mats' credit, not mine

they need the fish to complete the picture.

There must be something I am saying wrong: every person I say/write to that I would like to start an Aquarium business or I would like to build an Aquarium thinks I plan to raise and sell fish. Maybe you could tell me why that is... Anyway, no, no selling fish, no selling plants (not intentionally anyway). The idea is in the ichthyo analog of a zoo. Big exhibits, big fish from all 5 continents, beautiful park/garden - charge admission. http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... 8&start=60

So what words should I use to convey this idea to people in one short sentence?

Thanks so much for the advices and the sentiments.

I'm designing a fish transport unit for my motorbike.

Well, from my limited understanding, my bike friends tell me that the two-wheelers are sensitive to balance. That is why bikers train first to ride with two riders, especially the curves - it is far from trivial and the stakes are... well, high. Water sloshing around in the carriage may cause you to lose your balance in a way similar to person sitting in the back and doing his/her balancing act. You might wanna consider attaching a cart and making it a three-wheeler, throwing a rubber liner in the cart and you are golden - you got yourself an ichthyo-friendly motobike

Na-ah, 14"? It's peanuts. We get lake effect snow all the time - nobody would be getting any snow past 20 miles away from the Lake and we would get pounded with a foot many many times over winter. Such is life. Some assembly (or shoveling) required.

[MatsP]

I'm designing a fish transport unit for my motorbike.

Well, from my limited understanding, my bike friends tell me that the two-wheelers are sensitive to balance. That is why bikers train first to ride with two riders, especially the curves - it is far from trivial and the stakes are... well, high. Water sloshing around in the carriage may cause you to lose your balance in a way similar to person sitting in the back and doing his/her balancing act. You might wanna consider attaching a cart and making it a three-wheeler, throwing a rubber liner in the cart and you are golden - you got yourself an ichthyo-friendly motobike

I wouldn't think it's a huge problem to transport small numbers of medium sized fish, or moderate numbers of smaller fish, on a motorbike.

I'm not really sure what you mean by "train first to ride with two riders". Certainly in this country, riders train on their own bike as a single rider, and only later on when you have passed your test are you allowed/supposed to carry a pillion passenger.

A passenger leaning the wrong way on a corner can indeed affect the balance of the bike. A "sloshy fish transporter" is much less likely to "sit up" [1] during a cornering situation - and even a large fish-transporter is unlikely to contain more than about 10-15 gal of water, which is a lot less than a fully grown human.

[1] Meaning the passenger doesn't like the way the bike leans so far over, and tries to compensate, making the bike take a different line on the corner. As bikes turn mainly based on lean, and very little through handle-bar-pointing, it affects the cornering quite dramatically. The way that two-wheeled tyres are designed, with a semi-circular profile, the edge of the tyre is a smaller diameter than the middle. If you take a plastic (or paper) drinks-cup, laying on it's side, and roll it, you'll see how it rolls in a circle. Motorcycle tyres work along the same principle when the bike is leaning. If the bike isn't leaning, then it goes in a straight line.

Here's a shot of Scott Redding displaying the technique of leaning in corners:


--
Mats

[Richard B]

@ Viktor

when i was in the trade, we once got in an "asian swap eel" - haven't a clue what it was scientifically. 5 foot long, resembling a brown conger eel (a native UK marine eel), and one mean, aggressive individual that i'm sure viewed me and my fingers as a "lite-bite" (never put hands in the tank for this one & i've tempted fate with many species). Also never seen one again. The cover glasses to the tank gave a 100% tight closure and were weighted down by a number of housebricks.....still this did not stop it going walkies one day......oh the trouble he caused us to find him!

[Viktor Jarikov]

Guys, thanks for the biking 101 and eel-keeping 101, respectively.

[L number Banana]

So what words should I use to convey this idea to people in one short sentence?

Hmm, I see. Aquarium business does sound like you're selling fish so I guess we would have to be looking for new words and certainly you have it right that you need to be able to describe it in one concise sentence(page 2 on the business plan - Executive Summary).
What are other places like that? 'Theme Park' is too kitchy and not educational. Botanical garden and aquascape is too plantish and doesn't emphasize the fish.....hmm.

Garden as the first part of the name/description attracts more people (more gardeners than fish people per capita.) So maybe something like:
Naples Garden and Aquarium offers guided and self guided tours through their elegantly landscaped grounds and aquariums showcasing large exotic fish from all five continents.

Weak parts are the words "large" and "elegantly" but use those two spots to point out your niche. If you have say catfish from each continent use that as the catch...large catfish and other exotic.....
Same for "elegantly", say if your niche is scented plants or miniature orchids put that in plus the fact that there s more as well...guided tours through their beautifully landscaped gardens including the secret miniature orchid garden....

Use the sentence to help to answer your five w's and the h that you need for the business plan.
Who: tourists, gardeners, fish fans, large fish fans, catfish fans, orchid nuts...wheelchair accessible (seniors$$), benches to rest in the gardens?
Why: because guided tours are available as well as self guided and tours are guided by fishkeeper with xx experience and xx years of pond keeping etc etc.
Where: Naples, FL
When: From dawn to dusk - Tueday - Saturday or whatever. Open for private tours only during December etc etc??
What: botanical garden specializing in XXX, large exotic fish from all continents.
How: Easy to get to, offering parking/bus routes, safe exhibits for kids blah,blah.

Is there another word for self guided?? that sounds funny.
What's your niche? are all the fish huge, what's the 'coolest' fish according to regular folk? Any particular slant to your planting ideas?
Don't forget to make lots of brochures for the tourist places - including the American embassy here. TONS of Canadian flock south every winter. Your business is not a business, it's a "destination."

WRT the motorbike lean etc, let me add to MatsP's info, this is another cool way to understand it as explained to me - think of a motorcycle wheel as an inverted screw head or mushroom. The part that touches the road is larger on the sides (during a lean) than it is being upright so steering with the body works better than steering with the bars. Remember riding a bike with no hands? Lean yourself to turn it.
I have no intention of taking passengers anytime soon, if ever - yikes. My only potential passenger someday is 310 lbs and I'm about 130 so I would be in a perpetual wheelie on such a small bike!
I'm more worried about the water sloshing out if I have to stop suddenly so I need the fish-unit to be self contained. My cycling course includes a part where you learn to ride so smoothly that you don't spill the glass of water taped to your gastank!!That includes corners.

Just passed my written knowledge test and my three day course starts April 1st, next course is in June and track course is July ))
Viktor, if you need a third set of eyes to proofread your business stuff or brochures etc, PM me, I love doing that sort of thing.

[L number Banana]

MatsP:

Certainly in this country, riders train on their own bike as a single rider, and only later on when you have passed your test are you allowed/supposed to carry a pillion passenger.

Yup, same here. I wouldn't be allowed to carry a passenger until I've taken the first two courses/road tests but see above - I won't be taking any passengers other than fish.

A "sloshy fish transporter" is much less likely to "sit up"

If it does, I should run away as I've caught something too large for my tank. heehee

Good explanation as usual and nice pic.

Richard B: re the eel

....still this did not stop it going walkies one day......

I can see the Far Side cartoon in my head

[Viktor Jarikov]

Here goes my pathetic attempt at loosely, very loosely keeping to the thread title:

The cover glasses to the tank gave a 100% tight closure and were weighted down by a number of housebricks.....still this did not stop it going walkies one day......

There is a popular saying in Russian involving a one-eyed baby and seven nannies... It was a store with many employees and visitors, right? Could it simply had been that some one moved the brick(s) or forgot to put a couple back or missed one glass cover, etc.? Still, if the 5-ft eel could stretch from the bottom to the glass covers, he could lean against the bottom and lift the cover even with the weights on. 5-ft is a monster and these guys are incredibly strong, like snakes, one solid muscle. Once there is a crack and his head is in, their slipperiness comes in very handy and off they go.


L#Banana, thanks so much for your care and help.

Balaji (aka Shovelnose) suggested Monster, Inc.

The name is IchthyoPark, Inc. We already got it approved by the state of FL. The marketing slogan I am pondering: "Come see the biggest collection of the biggest freshwater fish".

The trick is not to turn out a liar cuz' I'd rather, much rather we fail than lie. Yeah, likely within 1 year this slogan will not be even close to true but I think and hope within 2-3 years, it should become true or close to it. Then we could use it. Until then, it should have an "in progress" tack-on in real tiny print

See, the biggest collection (in the world or in US or in FL, by implication, choose one) of the biggest f.-w. fish (in the world) is a tricky slogan:
-- first of all, we are talking about a publicly accessible collection;
-- second, you don't have to have more fish than any other Aquarium (which as a norm have both marine and f.-w.), just more of the (biologically) largest species,
-- or more of the largest specimen of the largest species, to remain truthful and make this marketing claim, which I think would be very attractive to a wide audience, much wider than animal lovers, fish-keeping hobbyists, kids, and anglers - I am aiming at people looking to relax and kill a couple of hours of leisure time - that's by far the biggest customer base at a resort place like Naples with >1,000,000 tourists yearly, most of which are wealthy.
-- according to our research based on vising loads of public Aquaria and zoos, ~50%-70% of the fish we intend to display cannot be seen anywhere else in the US public Aquaria and zoos and another ~10%-20% can be seen very rarely. If we are lucky, we can push this number to 90%.

Gardens and aquatic gardens and koi ponds are thought to be just a backdrop, so we are not catering to the gardeners in the first place. My MPH (Much Prettier Half) is into cacti and succulents and has a nice collection of those of her own. Besides, Naples has a nice Bot. Garden but there is no Aquarium in the 50-100 mile radius.

[L number Banana]

Lots to think about, If I can get my mind off your Prettier Half's plants!! Drool. I would visit a garden specializing in Cacti and succulents!

second, you don't have to have more fish than any other Aquarium (which as a norm have both marine and f.-w.), just more of the (biologically) largest species,

I think 'biggest' this or that might make people think about 9 metre long fish or Dubai style aquariums 'cause the average tourist might not know those legalities.

The tag line to Ichthyopark tells non-fish people that Ichthyo- is about fish and that's helpful.

On the funny side, I thought about these:
Ichthyopark - the monsterfish your mother warned you about.
Ichthyopark - Fish with attitude.
heehee!

Going out to shovel...

[Birger]

Going out to shovel...

Poor you...we have a Chinook moving in...yahoo!!!

Birger

[L number Banana]

Going out to shovel...

Poor you...we have a Chinook moving in...yahoo!!!

Birger

Lucky you! Enjoy for the rest of us please
I just had the snow plow push a giant ice boulder from the street to the middle of the driveway... Moved it back out to the edge of the roadway by using my ice chopper as a prybar and rolling it, so maybe they will move it a little father down on the next pass.

If it doesn't get moved far enough to get the truck by, it'll be power tool time!! I'll stand on it first, take a picture and send it with a thank you note to the mayor...

I can't winge about my storm when I think about Australia...back to counting blessings and shoveling.

[MatsP]

Viktor's Fish Park continues here:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... =2&t=32256

--
Mats