The first step in our shipping process is selecting the finest animals from our stock tanks; special attention is given while pulling live animals for orders. Animals are moved into our shipping area and held in individual containers filled with clean water and are then pulled and placed into a 3 mil thick poly bag designed for shipping live fish. The bag is pre-filled with clean water, & pure Oxygen (O2) is added and the bag is then heat sealed closed with a special impulse sealer. This newly sealed bag containing your fish, water and pure Oxygen is then placed inside of yet another 3 mil thick poly bag and is once again heat sealed. All Live Animals are double bagged.
Next your fish are placed inside of an insulated, factory-made custom fish mailing box. We have two versions: For non-extreme weather shipping, we use a patented Temp-Lok insulated fish box liner bag inside of a new, rigid cardboard box. These Temp-Lok bags are made of a very tough bubble-wrap type material. The outside is covered in a reflective Mylar-type substance which reflects heat. Inside of the Temp-Lok bag are many small air-filled bladders which prevent heat and cold transfer. The inside-most layer of plastic on the Temp-Lok bag is made of a very thick white plastic material. These Temp-Lok bags are equivalent to using 3/4 inch thick polystyrene insulating panels. The second version of our fish mailing boxes consists of a new rigid cardboard box, and inside of the box are six 1 pound density polystyrene (Styrofoam) panels which are assembled, providing thick insulated walls inside of the cardboard box. Your Live Animals sit at the bottom of the shipping box and packing material is placed around and on top of them. At the very top of the box, we place either heat packs or deep frozen gel packs (depending on the weather and time of year).
In extreme heat and extreme cold scenarios, we may employ a Temp-Lok fish box liner bag and insulated polystyrene shipping panels inside of the box to provide an additional layer of security for your purchase.
Finally, the box is tightly sealed up and taped firmly closed with 3 inch packing tape, shipping labels are affixed and it is picked up by the carrier.
Shipping Schedule
"You can ship live fish quickly, or you can ship live fish safely. You can't do both." -Some Genius Guy (Probably)
Rest assured that we ship your fish SAFELY. We move Live Animals out to customers on a "buy this week, ship next week" schedule. Each week, the cut-off for shipping is Sunday, 12 Noon Pacific US Time. For example, orders placed this week (up until Sunday, 12 Noon Pacific US Time) will ship next week on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. This delay is necessary due to the volume of Live Animals we process out of our facility, and it is especially necessary in order to properly fast and prepare Live Animals for their journey to your doorstep. Be aware: Ordering Live Animals and paying for Next Day Air or Overnight Delivery Services does not mean that your Live Animals are shipping out the next day