Shipping Policies

Live arrival guarantee ONLY applies to US Domestic UPS Next Day or air cargo shipping, not for Canada / International shipments!

UPS 2 day & Ground Shipping DOES NOT come with live arrival guarantee.

All jumbo Size fish or larger HAVE TO ship UPS Next Day Air or air cargo to qualify for live arrival guarantee.

Most of the year when temperatures permit, we offer UPS 2 day shipping as an option, but Without a live arrival guarantee. During high heat and cold temperatures, please choose 1-day Shipping service.

For UPS shipments, a tracking number will be provided the day the order is shipped.

We ship fish orders UPS on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesdays each week, weather & Holiday permitting. We do not offer Friday, Saturday, or Sunday arrivals as it is too risky shipping fish late in the week.

For air cargo shipments, you will be provided with an air bill number and an email of the flight details and estimated arrival time. Cargo Facility Addresses are available upon request. Or visit SWACargo.com & www.deltacargo.com.

We ship fish orders via air cargo on Wednesdays or Thursdays each week depending on our schedule. The Airport is a four-hour trip for us, so we consolidate all cargo orders to these days only.

Buyer pays the actual shipping cost. We do not make any money on shipping.

We use specially made Molded Styrofoam boxes, bags, and heat packs when necessary that are designed for shipping live fish.

If a delivery is late due to the UPS or air cargo carrier, weather, customs, or any other unforeseen issues out of our control, we WILL still honor the live arrival guarantee up to four hours past the original quoted timeframe. Reimbursement for DOAs will be issued in the form of credit towards future fish purchases. Credit is issued for DOA fish only, not shipping charges.

Air Cargo shipments must be picked up within 8 hours of arrival at the destination airport for live arrival guarantee to be in effect.

UPS Shipping varies by weight, box size, distance, etc. You will have shipping quotes provided at checkout.

If you live close to an airport that supports Southwest or Delta Cargo, it can be a fast arrival and safer journey for fish. Usually 8-24 hours from time of shipping. Southwest Cargo is a prepaid flat rate cost of $79 for box weight up to 45-50 pounds. Delta is $85. Meaning the shipping cost is the same whether you buy one fish or 15.

All fish won on auction require overnight shipping. These are typically one-of-a-kind fish that are most likely irreplaceable.

For Canadian / International orders, we are not responsible for any delays due to the extended distance, border inspections, customs, or any duty tax holds!

ALL international shipments MAY BE subject to a duty tax / import fee IF APPLICABLE for your country. The Receiver/Customer (YOU) are responsible for paying those customs fees once the order is in transit. You will be contacted by UPS for that.

For All Canadian Fish Orders the Fastest Method available still has a 1-3 day ETA window. So all Canadian orders customer needs to consent to the risk and understand Seller is Not responsible for Package once it leaves. We Pack our fish Extremely well and will give them all accommodations to plan on a 2-3 day journey.

You are responsible to track your shipment with the UPS tracking Number or Air Cargo Air-bill provided.

WHAT IS LIVE ARRIVAL?

What is live arrival guarantee? This means the fish will arrive to you alive. If the fish arrive to you dead or in very rough shape and die soon after, we will compensate you the cost of the fish. In order for you to get compensated, you need to send us a clear picture of the fish dead in the bag. Live arrival guarantee is voided if you do not send us pictures within 3 hours of delivery.

-How will you get compensated? We will give you the option of credit of the cost of the fish you can use on a future or of fish or food, or if we have another one, we will provide you a replacement but you still have to cover shipping cost to ship it. We DO NOT give cash refunds. If we ever do decide to refund a customer, it will be at our discretion depending on the situation. We do not give credit or refunds on shipping if a fish arrives dead unless your entire order arrives dead. In that case, we will ship you a replacement order and we will cover the cost of shipping as well.

-Does live arrival guarantee still apply if the fish die after you put them in your tank? For 99% of Fish sellers online, the answer is NO, but depending on the situation and if you give us the information we need, potentially YES. There are a dozen reasons why a fish could die after you add it to your tank that are completely out of our control. For example, too small of a tank, incorrect tank mates, poor water quality, and the major reason is aggression. The first step if you notice your new fish not doing well is to contact us ASAP and let us know what’s going on and the symptoms.

DO NOT wait a few days to tell us it’s not acting right or died or we won’t be able to compensate you. If you tell us and send pictures of it not doing well before it dies, we are more likely to work with you on compensation than if you send us a pic of it dead after a few hours/days of being in your tank and you just saying “It died”. Second, we will need pictures of the fish (whether it's dead or alive), the tank you have them in, the tank mates it is with, and water parameters. If we see you put the fish in an appropriate setup and with appropriate tank mates and the water parameters are good, we may be able to give you partial or full credit for the cost of the fish. One of the main reasons a fish dies after you receiving it is from aggression, getting beat up from another fish. In a photo, we would be able to see torn/shredded fins, missing scales, redness, and hemorrhaging. In an instance like that, we would not be able to provide any type of compensation because that is completely out of our control. Also, if you send us a picture of a fish that has been dead for a while and has already started decomposing, it will be impossible for us to try to find a cause of death and we are less likely to give compensation. If you notice a dead fish, take a clear photo of it ASAP and we will have a better chance of guessing the cause of death.

-Should I quarantine new fish? The answer to that no matter where you buy fish from is YES, even from trusted sources. Quarantining isn’t just to check if they are sick before adding them to your established tank. The main reason we recommend it is because the fish have been in the bag for 1 or more days and that is very stressful for them. Putting the new fish all in a quarantine tank will give them time to relax and settle down from the stress of shipping. How long should you quarantine before adding to an established tank? It depends on the source, but a few days to 3 weeks is standard. From an untrusted source, closer to 3 weeks, when getting fish from us, most people do it for a week. What size quarantine tank should I have? For 1 3-5” fish, a tank as small as 20 gallons is fine. For a few 3-5” fish, a 40g or bigger. For a few bigger fish, 5-8”, at least 75g or bigger. Do I have to quarantine? No, most of our customers do not quarantine and never have an issue. We just strongly recommend it because it relieves a lot of the stress from shipping like we mentioned above.

-Should I treat new fish? NO, NO, NO. When buying fish from us, do not treat the water or feed med food unless you notice a real issue. 80% of the fish we sell are bred and raised here at our facility and quarantined their whole life. Any fish we bring in from other sources are quarantined for a minimum of 2 weeks and given precautionary treatment with external meds and medicated food. If you start treating a tank for illnesses they don’t have, you are doing more harm than good, knocking down their immune system and stressing them out which opens the doorway for real problems. Especially if you do not get the dosage right for the meds you use, so PLEASE, do not treat them unless you see an actual issue. And if you do notice an issue, you should be contacting us ASAP so we can help walk you through the best treatment methods. When you get new fish, we do recommend adding Stress Coat or Stress Guard, it will help relieve stress and help heal up any tattered fins or loose scales caused from their time in the bag during shipping.

Please research and familiarize yourself with Males and Females of each species. If you are uncertain of their colors, sizing, compatibility, or any shipping questions, feel free to contact us and we can help answer all your questions. Please use the webchat, text, email, or phone call to reach us.

We will do everything we can to make the transaction easy for you. Thank you!