Shipping
How live ghost shrimp reach you alive
Ordering live animals online should not feel like a gamble. Here is every step of what happens between your order confirmation and the moment the shrimp go into your tank — plus exactly what we do when something goes wrong.
Inside every box
Oxygen-charged bags
Roughly one-third water and two-thirds pure oxygen, double-bagged with the corners banded so nothing gets trapped.
Low density per bag
Large orders are split across multiple bags rather than crammed into one. Density is the single biggest driver of transit loss.
Temperature management
Rigid foam liner inside every box, plus a 40- or 72-hour heat pack in cold weather or a gel cool pack in summer.
Monday–Wednesday only
We never ship on a day that could leave a box sitting in a facility over a weekend.
Tracking on every box
Tracking is emailed as soon as the label scans, and multi-box orders get individual numbers.
Weather holds
During extreme heat or cold we hold the shipment and message you rather than gambling on a forecast.
Acclimation, step by step
The shipping is our job; the first hour is yours. Following these steps is what keeps arrival-week losses near zero.
- 1
Open the box immediately
Unpack on arrival, even if the tank is not ready. Float nothing yet — first look at the bag and note any casualties for a guarantee claim within 4 hours of delivery.
- 2
Dim the lights
Turn off the aquarium light and work in low light for the next hour. Bright light on top of transit stress is the most common avoidable loss.
- 3
Temperature match
Float the sealed bag in the tank for 20–30 minutes so the shipping water reaches tank temperature. Do not open the bag during this step.
- 4
Drip acclimate for 60–90 minutes
Pour the shrimp and their water into a clean container and drip tank water in at 2–3 drops per second until the volume has roughly tripled.
- 5
Net them across
Move the shrimp with a soft net or cup. Never pour shipping water into your aquarium — it carries ammonia from the trip.
- 6
Leave them alone
Add a piece of blanched vegetable or a bit of biofilm-rich moss, keep the light off for the rest of the day, and skip feeding heavily for 24 hours.
Live arrival guarantee
Open the box on arrival. If any shrimp arrived dead, photograph the unopened bag and email us within four hours of the delivery scan. We credit or replace — your choice — and we do not ask you to ship anything back.
Read the full policyShipping questions
One to two days for most of the continental US. Shrimp in an oxygen-charged bag are comfortable for well over 48 hours, so a one-day carrier delay is not a crisis.