We offer several reliable options for shipping live fish and corals safely to your door. Choose the option below that best suits your location and needs. If you are unsure, contact us and we will help you select the safest service.
Our Delivery Options
Airport to Airport (Toll Air Express)
Air freight from our local airport to your destination airport.
- Cost: $100
- Transit: Up to 16 hours
- DOA cover: Yes
- Dispatch: Thursday night for Friday airport pickup. Order by Thursday.
Priority Same Day Airport to Airport
Fast air freight from our local airport to your destination airport, available on request.
- Cost: $185
- Transit: Up to 12 hours
- DOA cover: Yes
- Dispatch: Monday to Thursday. Contact us to arrange.
Door to Door (Toll Priority)
We collect from our store and deliver directly to your address.
- Cost: $100
- Transit: 24 to 48 hours
- DOA cover: No
- Dispatch: Order by 6am on the day of dispatch. Orders after this cut off move to the next dispatch day.
Star Track Priority (Door to Door)
Combined road and air freight, delivered to your door.
- Cost: $55
- Transit: 24 to 72 hours
- DOA cover: No
- Dispatch: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Order by 10am on the day of dispatch.
A note on timing: All transit times are estimates and can vary with your location, the weather, and carrier schedules. Regional and remote areas may take longer. To give your livestock the safest trip, please order early in the week.
Requested Dispatch Dates and Holding Orders
We do not hold orders. Every online order is packed and sent on the next available dispatch day for the service you paid for. We cannot pack to a date you choose, and we cannot delay an order so that it lands on a particular day of the week.
There is one exception. We will consider holding an order if you arrange it with us before you place the order. Contact us first, we check our tank space and our shipping schedule, and if we can do it we confirm the hold in writing along with any fee. Nothing is held until you have that written confirmation from us. A holding fee may apply, and where it does we quote it to you before you place the order. The same rule applies to livestock paid for in store.
If you ask us to hold your order, or to send it on a particular day, after the order is placed, we will usually not be able to do it. Your order will be packed and sent on the next available dispatch day, as booked.
No Guaranteed Delivery Date or Time
We can tell you the day your order leaves us and the service it travels on. We cannot guarantee the day or the time it arrives. We do not offer delivery on a nominated date, and we cannot accept an order on the condition that it arrives by a particular day. Every transit time shown on this page, in the delivery estimator, at checkout or in an email from us is an estimate published by the carrier. It is not a promise from them and it is not a promise from us.
Once your parcel is lodged it is in the freight company's hands. Delays we do not control include weather such as heat, storms, flooding and fog, flight delays and cancellations, a missed sort at a depot, vehicle breakdown or accident, road closures and detours, depot backlogs, public holidays and industrial action, an incorrect or changed delivery address, a failed delivery attempt, security, biosecurity or quarantine inspection, and carrier system outages.
Cover is set by the service you chose, not by how long the journey took. A delay does not create cover on a service that never carried it, and does not extend cover on a service that does. The Dead on Arrival claim window is 4 hours from when you receive your order, no matter how late it arrives, and the Death After Arrival window is 12 hours from airport pickup. Cover is void where livestock is left unattended, returned to a depot, or not collected promptly, and that includes a parcel that has run late. Freight is not refunded because a delivery ran late. We are not liable for loss beyond the animals themselves. A claim about a late delivery is a claim against the carrier, and we will help you chase it with your consignment number.
If we can see before we pack that weather or a carrier problem makes travel unsafe, we will not send the animals. We will contact you and send on the next safe dispatch day.
Full terms are set out in our Guarantees & Policies. Nothing in this policy limits any right you have under the Australian Consumer Law.
Pre-Dispatch Stock Condition and Availability
Every animal, coral and plant in your order is checked by hand again on the day it is packed, not only on the day you ordered.
Live stock is unpredictable. Between the moment you place an order and the moment we pack it, an individual animal may:
- die
- be injured, bitten, stung or killed by a tank mate
- stop feeding, or refuse food in the days before travel
- show early signs of illness, parasites or infection
- lose condition, colour or weight
- be damaged during netting, bagging or handling
- be judged by our staff as not settled or not strong enough to travel safely
Corals and invertebrates may bleach, recede, lose tissue, or be damaged in handling. Live plants may melt, rot, or be found carrying pest snails. Reptiles and frogs may go off their food, have shedding trouble, or be injured in their enclosure.
Occasionally an item becomes unavailable for reasons that have nothing to do with the animal's health. It may have sold in store before your order reached the packing bench, a stock count may have been wrong, or a listing may have carried an error.
If any item in your order does not pass our final pre-pack check, it does not travel. We will not send you an animal we would not be happy to buy ourselves.
What happens next
- The item is left out and the rest of your order is packed and sent as booked, on the service you paid for.
- We automatically add store credit to your account for the full amount you paid for that item. You don't need to do a thing.
- Then we'll email you to let you know what was left out and why, and to ask what you'd prefer. You can keep the store credit, or we can refund the item to your original payment method. It's entirely your choice. On busy packing days this email may reach you after your order has been dispatched.
- Your store credit never expires. Use it online or in store, whenever it suits you. It can go towards the same animal when it's back in stock, or towards anything else in the shop.
- Refunds are processed within 2 business days of your request. Please allow up to 10 business days for it to appear, as banks and card providers can take extra time.
One item does not affect the rest of your order
An item being left out does not cancel or refund the rest of your order. Everything else is sent as booked, so your remaining livestock is not held any longer than it needs to be.
Freight
- Shipping is not refunded. The box, the packing and the freight booking are unchanged whether or not every item travels.
- If removing an item drops a dry goods order below our $250 free shipping threshold, we will not charge you freight after the fact.
Substitutes
Where we have a suitable animal of equal value we may offer you a substitute instead. We will only ever do this with your agreement. We will never swap an animal without telling you.
Reptiles and frogs
Reptiles and frogs remain in our care until your licence and permit documents have been verified, which can take some time. The pre-pack check above is carried out at dispatch, not on the day you order. If the animal cannot travel at that point, this policy applies in full and the animal is credited or refunded to you as set out above.
The no-refund provision in our Reptile and Amphibian Purchasing Policy applies only where an order is cancelled because the purchaser is not licensed or has not supplied valid documentation. It does not apply where we are the ones unable to supply the animal.
What this policy does not cover
This policy covers stock condition and availability up to the point your order leaves us. Once your order has been dispatched, our Arrive Alive Guarantee (DOA and DAA) applies instead. No compensation beyond store credit or a refund of the price paid for the item left out is offered under this policy.
This policy applies until your order is handed to you or to the carrier. For orders collected in store, our in-store Live Fish Stock Policy applies from the time of collection.
This policy applies to all online orders, for live fish, corals, invertebrates, live plants, reptiles and frogs, and to dry goods found to be unavailable after ordering.
Dead on Arrival (DOA) Cover
DOA cover applies only to livestock shipped by air freight. It gives you peace of mind that eligible animals are covered if they arrive deceased. Full terms are in our Live Fish Arrival Guarantee.
How to make a claim
- Take clear photos or video of the deceased livestock in the sealed, unopened inner bag.
- If double bagged, you may remove the outer bag, but the inner bag must stay sealed.
- Take individual photos or video of each animal once unbagged, where applicable.
- Send your claim by email or text message within 4 hours of receiving your order. Claims by Facebook Messenger or phone cannot be accepted, and claims made after 4 hours may be declined.
Please include: your name, order number, approximate time received, number of bags affected, and quantity of livestock affected.
If your claim is approved
We will offer store credit or a replacement of the same item, subject to availability. Replacement shipping is covered only if more than 50 percent of your order arrives DOA. Shipping charges and fees are non-refundable.
To keep your cover valid
Be present at the airport or at home to receive your order, and collect it promptly. Livestock left unattended, returned to a depot, or delayed in collection may void cover. We can only ship to a valid residential or business address, not PO boxes or third-party addresses.
How We Pack Your Livestock
Every order is packed with care using insulated packaging, seasonal heat or cool packs, and oxygen where needed, to keep your livestock stable in transit. See exactly how we do it on our How We Pack Your Livestock page, or read more detail on how packing changes with the season and your climate on our Season-Matched Shipping page.
Where We Ship
We are based in Brisbane and ship live fish and corals to most of Australia. Some states have import rules that may affect what we can send and the cost.
- Western Australia: Import requirements and fees may apply. Read first.
- Tasmania: Import requirements and fees may apply. Read first.
- Northern Territory: May require a permit and be subject to quarantine.
- Regional and remote areas: Carrier options can be limited, which may affect service and transit time.
If you are unsure we can reach your location, please contact us before ordering.
Weather and Animal Welfare
The health of our livestock always comes first. Extreme heat, storms, flooding, or bushfires can affect transit times and safety. We reserve the right to postpone any order when conditions may put the animals at risk. If your order is affected, we will contact you to arrange the next safe dispatch day.