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Shipping

Shipping

How we get a living animal from our tank to yours, in one piece.

Shipping live coral isn't like shipping anything else. It needs to be fast, it needs to be timed around weather, and it needs someone on the other end ready to receive it. Here's how we do it, and what to expect.

When we ship

We ship Monday through Wednesday only. That means your coral leaves our farm Mon, Tue, or Wed and arrives Tue, Wed, or Thu via overnight delivery.

Why no Thursday or Friday shipping? Because if anything goes sideways at the carrier (delayed truck, weather hold, redelivery), your coral could end up sitting in a warehouse over the weekend. That's not a risk we're willing to take with a live animal. Better to wait a few days and ship Monday than to gamble on a Friday departure.

If you place an order Thursday through Sunday, it ships the following Monday.

Shipping method

Every order ships overnight via UPS Next Day Air. You'll get a tracking number the morning your coral ships.

Packages need an adult signature on delivery for orders over $200, so plan to be home or have someone available.

Shipping costs

Flat $45 overnight shipping on every order. We don't mark it up. Live coral is expensive to ship and we'd rather be upfront about it than bury the cost in inflated product prices.

Free shipping on orders over $300, because at that point we're already happy.

Weather and seasonal holds

Live coral does not survive freezing or overheating. If the forecast along your shipping route looks dangerous, we'll hold your order until conditions improve.

Our thresholds:

  • Below 40°F at either end of the route: we hold or require a heat pack
  • Above 90°F at either end: we hold or require a cold pack
  • Severe weather warnings (hurricanes, blizzards, etc.): we pause entirely

You can add a heat pack or cold pack at checkout for $5. We recommend it from November through March in most of the country, and June through August in the south. If we recommend one for your specific order, we'll email you before shipping.

If we hold your order due to weather, we'll let you know by email and ship as soon as it's safe. Your order is locked in at the original price; the wait doesn't change anything except the calendar.

The day your coral arrives

This is the most important part. Plan for it.

  1. Be home. Or have someone home. A coral sitting on a porch in the sun for four hours is a problem we cannot fix from here.
  2. Open the package within 2 hours. Take it inside, find a clean workspace, gather your acclimation supplies.
  3. Photograph the sealed bag. This is required for our Live Arrival Guarantee. Get a clear shot of the coral inside the unopened bag, with a visible timestamp if possible.
  4. Acclimate slowly. Drip acclimation over 60 minutes minimum. Float the bag first to match temperature, then start dripping tank water in slowly. Yes, it's tedious. Do it anyway.
  5. Don't dose anything. New corals don't need extra calcium, alkalinity, or food the first day. They need stable water and dim light.

If anything looks wrong on arrival, see our Live Arrival Guarantee for next steps.

Where we ship

We ship to all 50 US states.

We do not currently ship internationally. Live coral imports require permits, customs paperwork, and CITES documentation that we're not set up for. Sorry, neighbors abroad. Someday maybe.

Tracking your order

You'll get an email with tracking the morning your coral ships. We watch the tracking too, and we'll reach out if we see anything unusual (delays, missed scans, weather warnings) before you have to come looking for us.

Address changes

We can change your shipping address up until the order ships. After that, the package is in UPS's hands, and they don't reroute live animals reliably. Double-check your address at checkout.

If you put in the wrong address and the package gets returned to us, we may not be able to ship a second time without re-charging shipping and replacing any DOA loss at customer expense. Triple-check at checkout.


Questions?

Shipping live animals is the part of this business where things can go sideways through no fault of yours or ours. If you have questions about your specific situation, your local weather, or anything timing-related, please just reach out to us here: https://delightfulcoral.com/pages/contact

We've shipped through every weather window the US has to offer and we'll tell you straight whether your timing is good.

Now go set up a quarantine tank.