Frequently Asked Questions
Placing An Order:
Will my fish look like the fish in the picture?
There are a lot of factors that play into how colored a fish is, especially when it comes to OBs and other hybrids. Our photos display mature, dominant males to show size and coloring potential. Development of color, intensity, and patterns is not guaranteed. Rest assured, we always try to pick the most beautiful and colored-up fish that fit the order parameters.
Please keep in mind that once your fish arrives, the stress from shipping can affect the color and appetite. Please give your fish a few days (or occasionally longer) to acclimate to their new environment and tank mates.
How do you measure and sex your fish?
Our unsexed juveniles are still too young to be sexed, and you will have to wait for them to grow out to sex them properly. Our guaranteed males and females are old/large enough to vent, although they are still not sexually mature.
*If you believe you have received the wrong gender of fish, please see the Guarantees and Policy page for more details.
Can I make changes to my order?
At this time, we are unable to accommodate any changes to orders. This includes, but is not limited to: adding or removing items, substituting items, canceling orders, holding orders for a later shipping date, etc.
What is your cancellation policy?
All orders are FINAL once they are confirmed.
When will you be restocking?
We keep our inventory up to date and add small numbers of fish as they become available. If we do a large restock, we will be posting about it on our social media. You can sign up for restock notifications on the item page of the desired items.
Fish are living things and do not grow into beautiful, dominant males overnight. We ask that you are patient with us if products are not always stocked. A lot of factors go into breeding and maintaining overall colony health. It is also important to remember that some fish can take up to a year to get to the 4"+ mark, so restocking on certain types can take a while.
Shipping Information:
Once I place my order, what is the process?
Upon order confirmation, you will receive an email with your order number and an overview of your order. From there, we pull your order and put all of your fish in quarantine tanks, where they will be monitored for the next 48 hours to ensure they are happy and healthy and to clear their digestive system to help the chance of them diminishing the water quality during transit.
Based on our shipping schedule, we will carefully pack your order and prepare them to be shipped overnight. Once they depart our facility, you will receive tracking information to prepare to receive your package the next day.
How much is shipping?
Shipping prices will be automatically calculated at checkout based on your shipping address and the weight of the packaged fish in your order. We have added the weight onto all product descriptions so you can see where you are on your order if you want to stay in the lower tier. 10lbs goes much further than you may think; about 80% of orders fall under the 10lbs mark.
Where do you ship to?
We ship to the lower 48 states. We are not shipping to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or internationally.
I live close to you. Can I pick up my order?
We are unable to offer any pick-up orders at this time. We are a biosecure facility and are completely closed to the public.
When will my order ship?
Your order will ship according to the day the order was placed (Holidays and inclement weather permitting). You can view our shipping schedule here.
Once your order departs our facility, it is your responsibility to follow up on the order location using the provided tracking number. If we hold shipping due to inclement weather, you will be notified by us.
Can I combine orders to save on shipping?
If you place two orders in one day, we will combine them for a $10 fee and process a partial refund for the second order. We can combine up to two orders per day, but if the weight exceeds 10 lbs, you may incur additional fees. Please email us if you want orders to be combined.
Will you refund shipping if there is a problem with my order?
All shipping fees are non-refundable! NO EXCEPTIONS!
If something is wrong with my order, will you ship a new fish to me?
NO. We do not reship orders or fish. Guarantees are processed through store credit or refund ONLY! We are happy to assess a store credit or refund case-by-case basis.
How do you pack the fish?
We carefully package the fish in sturdy cardboard boxes with insulation on all sides. (We will provide heat packs when shipping during the colder winter.) The fish are placed in bags with fresh, clean water, pure oxygen, and a light sedative to reduce stress during the shipping process. We also include a document with information outlining the acclimation process and other applicable details.
While we never want orders to be delayed, we pack all of our fish to survive 3+ days in case of shipping setbacks.
My order arrived, now what?
What do I do if some or all of my fish are DOA?
We have an "Arrive Alive" Guarantee:
Your fish are guaranteed to arrive happy and healthy. On the rare occasion that a fish is DOA (dead on arrival) or sickly upon reception, contact us within 2 HOURS of delivery time with photos to get assistance. You must include photos of the fish in the sealed packing bag and the label visible for us to fully refund the DOA fish. Please refer to our refund policy for more information.
What is the acclimation process?
Turn off the lights to your aquarium and dim the lights in the room your aquarium is in. If the fish are being introduced into a tank containing fish (not recommended), feeding your fish before turning off the lights will tend to decrease aggression in the new fish. It is always best to put new arrivals in a separate tank with a conditioned and operating bio filter until they have recovered from shipping. If the bag(s) have deflated or leaked, do not just dump the fish into the aquarium. Go to Step 4 and continue the acclimation process outlined in Step 4.
Proper fish acclimation will require time and patience to prevent temperature shock, especially during winter shipment. If the fish appear fine, place them in their plastic bags in the aquarium where they will reside. “Float” the bag(s) in the aquarium’s water. Allow the bags to float in the tank for 30 to 60 minutes. After the acclimation process, pour the fish into a net, discard the bag’s water and slowly transfer the fish into the aquarium.
If the fish appear distressed, open the bags and roll down the top of the bags so that they are open and floating at the surface. If the bag is too small to be floated, you may dump the entire contents into a small bucket or another larger bag. Be prepared with an ammonia neutralizer. If you smell heavy ammonia or the water is cloudy, you should add an appropriate amount to each bag to eliminate the ammonia. If the fish are stressed because the water is too cold, they must be warmed to a reasonable temperature Slowly replace shipping water with aquarium water (about 30 % of the shipping water at a time). Repeat this multiple times - Add water from the aquarium in small amounts over 60 minutes to allow the temperature to stabilize, acclimating your fish to their new environment and new water chemistry.
Part of acclimating your new tropical fish is to not feed the fish for at least 24 hours, especially with the larger ones. When you do start feeding, start with no more than one or two bites of dry food. Normal-sized feedings can make your fish sick or even cause newly shipped fish to die. If the fish is showing signs of sedation or a weakened condition (side swimming or falling to the bottom of the tank), make sure the fish is not being “bullied” or picked on by other fish. The effects of sedation may take several hours or even overnight to completely dissipate.
When very cold or sedated*** the fish can appear dead and yet be just fine. Always acclimate fish that seem to be dead. They are usually just in a torpid state from the shipping conditions and will be fine if warmed up soon enough and acclimated properly.
***We use mild sedation on some fish (especially larger ones) to prevent stress and damage during shipping.