Live Arrival Policy & DOA Information

We guarantee live arrival. This will cover any issues with shipping that might impair the health of the fish.

We do not guarantee fish beyond the day of arrival. Please research the requirements for each fish to ensure a suitable environment, food, and compatible tank mates. Water quality, incompatibility with the fish tank, diet, or other challenges of the hobby are the responsibility of the hobbyist.

AquariumFishSale.com is opposed to the gimmick of extremely long guarantees offered by a few online stores and we feel this practice will promote careless fish care. For the good of the hobby we offer lower prices and a reasonable guarantee.

We ship hundreds of boxes each week and our DOA (dead on arrival) record is excellent, but nature will be nature and not all boxes are delivered with perfection.

*We will always ship live fish via Overnight shipping. If DOAs result from a delay by UPS/FedEx, a store credit will be issued for the losses.

In the rare event of a loss, please contact our Customer Support Department when the fish arrive. To file a DOA claim, follow the steps below:


1) Upon arrival, please send a photo (less than 5MB) of the lost specimen to: support@AquariumFishSale.com. No videos can be accepted.

2) Please include "DOA", your Order Number in the subject line. (Example DOA #1234). In the body of the email, include your name and item name with quantity of deceased specimens.

Once we receive a valid claim, we will refund you for the value of the fish in full within 5 business days. We do not send out replacements.

*Please note the shipping cost pays for only a portion of the actual FedEx Overnight fee. 
In order to make overnight shipping a viable service to our hobby we DO NOT refund shipping charges.
After careful consideration on the most humane treatment of a deceased animal, the least evasive method is to remove the tail. This is something we do not take lightly and would rather NOT do. Unfortunately, in order to reduce the fraudulent claims it is now a necessity.
We appreciate your understanding and if you have any questions, please let us know.