Shipping and Returns

Live animal orders ship for a flat $24.99 under $150, and the base shipping is free at $150 or more. Orders without live animals, such as mops, supplies, or plants on their own, ship for $4.99. One note on plants: a plant order without fish has a $24.99 minimum, because live plants need the same careful packing a fish box gets. Alongside fish there is no minimum, and floating plants already ride free in every order with live fish or snails. Merch is made to order, then printed and shipped separately by my print vendor, so it carries its own $4.99 shipping whenever it is in an order, even one that otherwise ships free.

Live fish and snails ship Mondays only, to help prevent weekend delays and keep transit short. Your order usually goes out the next available Monday, though it can slip to the following Monday and, occasionally, the Monday after that, so please allow up to three shipping weeks before it leaves. Everything else ships on Mondays too, except merch, which is made to order and ships on its own schedule from my print vendor. Merch and supplies ship to all 50 states, while live animals and plants stay contiguous-US only.

Order now, receive it when you are ready. If you are traveling, still cycling a tank, waiting on a pond build, or buying a gift for later, just tell me and I will hold your order until you say go. There is no extra charge and no deadline to decide.

The easiest way is the "Hold order or preferred ship week" box at checkout, where you can note a week or simply write "hold, I will let you know." You can also reply to your order confirmation email or write me at chris@fireflymedaka.com any time after ordering. Your fish are reserved for you either way, and they keep growing out in my pots until they ship.

Weather is the biggest risk to a live animal shipment. Extreme heat, hard freezes, hurricanes, winter storms, flooding, and other severe conditions can all put animals in danger or strand a package in transit, whether the weather is here in North Carolina, along the route, or at your door. When conditions are unsafe, I will hold your order and wait for a better window rather than sending your animals into weather they may not survive. I watch the weather at both ends of the trip before a box goes out. Shipping live fish turns a person into a weather watcher.

Most delays are short. A major storm or an extended stretch of extreme temperatures can push a shipment into the following week or longer, since I also ship live animals on Mondays only. I will not put a firm date on it that the weather might not allow. What I will do is keep you updated, and if the wait ever becomes longer than you are comfortable with, contact me and I will make it right. I appreciate your patience. It is always the right call for the animals.

You can upgrade any live animal order to overnight shipping for an extra $49.99 at checkout. It is optional and unchecked by default. The upgrade is in addition to your standard shipping rate, so it does not count toward the $150 free shipping threshold, and you can add it to an order that already ships free.

Here is my straight take. If cost were not a factor, I would send every order with live fish or snails overnight, because less time in transit is always better for the animals. In practice, two-day shipping has worked well for me. My packing method, built around insulated materials and short transit times, is designed for it, and the overwhelming majority of two-day orders arrive healthy and active. Making overnight the standard would push the total on a typical order to a price most customers would find unreasonable, so I made it a choice rather than a requirement.

Overnight is worth considering if you are ordering during a hot or cold stretch, if you live far from North Carolina, or if you simply want the shortest possible transit time. It stays a flat $49.99 no matter how far or how remote your address is, so the price you see at checkout is the price you pay. Either way, your order is covered by the same live arrival guarantee.

For live animal orders, I select the fastest reasonable shipping method available based on the destination, transit time, weather, and overall shipping conditions. My goal is to reduce time in transit while keeping shipping costs within reason.

In practice, every live order ships UPS 2nd Day Air, even when the ground estimate shows the same delivery date. Air packages move through a tighter, more time-sensitive network, while ground freight can sit longer between scans, and with live animals in the box I would rather have the shorter, more predictable handling. Whichever service I choose, your cost is already settled at checkout and never changes afterward.

For non-live items, such as apparel and spawning mops, the most affordable available shipping option is generally used.

I primarily ship with UPS. That said, I am not locked into one carrier: selection may vary by order depending on the shipping address, delivery estimate, weather, service reliability, and package type, always with the goal of giving each order the best chance of arriving safely and on time. If you need a specific carrier, reach out before placing your order and I will work with you.

Live orders ship UPS 2nd Day Air, and most arrive right on schedule. Once a package leaves my hands it is in the carrier's network, and every so often a carrier runs a day behind for reasons outside my control, whether a missed scan, a weather reroute, or a backed-up hub. When that happens your order is still covered by the same live arrival guarantee, so reach out and I will work with you. If you want the shortest, most predictable transit, the overnight upgrade is the surest option.

Every live animal order is packed using materials and shipping methods I have refined over many orders to support safe arrival, with insulation when the weather calls for it. When the weather is genuinely unsafe I hold the shipment rather than send it and hope.

Two options, both weather-watched, with insulation when the weather calls for it. Standard is UPS 2nd Day Air, at the $24.99 flat rate, free on orders over $150. Orders without live animals ship for $4.99, and merch is made to order and always ships separately from my print vendor for $4.99. Overnight is available as an upgrade in the cart for orders that want the shortest possible transit. Live animals dispatch Mondays only, so no box ever sits in a facility over a weekend.

Every fish is looked at individually before it is packed. Because this is a small operation, no fish ships from here without being personally inspected at packing time, and anything that does not look right stays home. Sexed fish are hand-sexed by reading fins, the same method my sexing guide teaches.

Every live animal order includes a complimentary assortment of floating plants as my way of saying thank you. Giant Duckweed, Frogbit, Salvinia Minima, Red Root Floaters, and Dwarf Water Lettuce may be included depending on seasonal availability. Once they arrive, they get to work immediately: floating plants absorb ammonia from the water, the main waste your new fish produce, so your setup gets living filtration exactly when it needs it most, during the first days after arrival. A few of these species are restricted in a handful of states, so I check every order's destination and only pack floaters that are legal where you live. The bonus never puts you on the wrong side of a state rule.

I stand behind every live shipment: fish, snails, and the plants you order. If a fish or snail arrives dead on arrival (DOA), or a plant arrives dead, please contact me by the end of the delivery day with a clear photo. If the package arrived damaged, please include photos of the shipping box and packaging as well. I'll review each situation promptly and work with you toward a fair resolution. After delivery day, plant care is in your hands.

Every case is reviewed personally, not by a script. My goal is always to make it right and keep you as a happy customer, not to look for reasons not to.

Fish, snails, and plants: I can't accept returns of anything alive, and I never need a dead animal sent back. The Live Arrival Guarantee above covers them: a clear photo by the end of the delivery day.

Supplies and merch: if something arrives damaged, defective, or wrong, tell me within 3 days of delivery with a photo of the item (and of the packaging, if it was damaged in shipping), and I'll replace or refund it.

No change-of-mind returns: merch is made to order just for you, and supplies are final sale too, so please check the size chart and colors before you order. If you're unsure about anything, ask me first and I'll give you a straight answer.

Questions before or after your order arrives? I am always happy to help, and I answer every message myself. My goal is a smooth trip from my deck to your tub, with no surprises.