Shipping
How Live Shrimp Are Shipped — and How to Acclimate Them
6 min read · Updated June 2026
Shipping live invertebrates works reliably when two things are handled correctly: the animals leave in good condition, and the customer acclimates them properly. We control the first half completely. This guide covers both so nothing is a mystery.
What's inside the box
- Oxygen-charged bags — roughly one-third water, two-thirds pure oxygen
- Low density per bag; large orders are split rather than crammed
- Sponge or moss fragments so shrimp can grip instead of tumbling
- Double bagging with the corners banded to prevent trapped animals
- Rigid foam-insulated box liner
- A 40- or 72-hour heat pack in cold weather, a gel cool pack in heat
- Fasting before packing so the bag stays clean of waste in transit
Ship days and timing
We ship Monday through Wednesday only, so no box sits in a facility over a weekend. Orders placed later in the week ship the following Monday. During extreme heat or cold we hold shipments and message you rather than gambling on the forecast.
Acclimation, step by step
- Open the box immediately on arrival and inspect before anything else
- Photograph the unopened bags if anything looks wrong — this supports a guarantee claim
- Turn the aquarium light off
- Float the sealed bag for 20–30 minutes to match temperature
- Pour shrimp and shipping water into a clean container
- Drip tank water in at 2–3 drops per second until volume roughly triples (60–90 minutes)
- Net the shrimp into the tank — never pour shipping water in
- Leave the light off for the rest of the day and feed lightly the next day
Live arrival guarantee
Report any loss within four hours of the carrier's delivery scan, with a photo of the unopened bag, and we credit or replace it. The window is short because it has to be — after a few hours, arrival condition can no longer be distinguished from acclimation conditions.