The Shipping Process
Once your fish have been ordered, it's time to get them ready for the journey to you. Here's exactly what happens between checkout and your front door.
Fasting
Your fish are fasted for about 24 hours before packing to minimise waste in their bags, keeping the water clean for the trip. This is why there's a cut-off time for orders to be sent the next dispatch day.
Water preparation
Bettas can travel in a weak methylene blue solution, which helps prevent infection if fins get torn in transit. If some Indian almond leaf extract makes its way in, the water may look slightly green, that's completely normal and beneficial.
Bagging with oxygen
Every bag is filled with oxygen before sealing.
Bettas are usually packed in long, slender betta bags; orders of one or two bettas are packed in larger bags that fill out the styrofoam box.
Insulated boxing
The bags go into styrofoam boxes to insulate them from the weather. During the colder months, a heat pack is included, typically a 40-hour pack, so even a delayed parcel stays warm. In warmer months, a 12 or 24-hour pack is used instead so the box doesn't overheat.
Labelling
Each box is labelled with Live Fish and Fragile stickers so the carriers know exactly what they're handling.
Pickup & tracking
Carriers typically collect parcels around midday to late afternoon. Tracking can be slow to update on the carrier's website, so if there's no movement by the end of the day, contact us and we'll look into it.
Delivery
We ship Monday to Wednesday to avoid fish being held over the weekend (WA orders ship Mondays only). Because delivery is handled by our carrier network rather than our own drivers, we can't guarantee a specific arrival time, this depends on the driver's route on the day. If no one is home, the parcel will be left at the door where it's safe to do so.
When your fish arrive: acclimate them properly before release, shipping is stressful and good aftercare makes all the difference. For arrival issues, see our Shipping & Return Policies.