We guarantee live arrival on all Fed-ex, UPS ground shipments as well as USPS Priority that arrive within 4 days in the summer and 3 days in the winter.  We do not encourage USPS express shipments.  Their new policy states that any live animals will be pulled for "special handling" and shipment will be delayed for up to 3 days.  Therefore if they suspect we are shipping fish that box will  be pulled from their automatic sort and will be delivered no faster than priority mail.  They will not refund monies on shipments containing fish if they are aware there are fish in the package.  This is exactly why the postal service is a money losing entity.  Shipping costs are not included in the guarantee. 

We pack our fish in different ways depending on the species.  We will use breather bags for the delicate species that need packed individually such as altums.  For larger plecos or corys that will puncture the bags we double or triple bag with pure oxygen.  We do add something to control ammonia in the bags that has proven to be very successful in shipping even the delicate species. For discus and altums we will only ship Fed-ex.  We have had major issues with Express with the USPS and won't risk these fish.  This policy will apply to any valuable and delicate species as we deem necessary. UPS ground is a great option for those in a one or two day delivery range providing the temps are within reason.