Shrimp Aquatics ships live animals and aquarium equipment from Vietnam to hobbyists worldwide. This page explains what our live arrival guarantee covers, how long you have to report a problem, the evidence we need from you and how an approved claim is settled.

Before you open the box

A livestock claim stands or falls on what you record at the moment of unboxing. Have your phone ready and start filming before you cut the outer tape, every time, even when the box looks perfect from the outside.

Report dead-on-arrival livestock within 2 hours

Every livestock order we ship is covered by the live arrival guarantee. To use it, email us within 2 hours of delivery, counted from the delivery time recorded by the carrier, not from the moment you open the box. Send the claim even if you are still counting the animals, then follow up with the full evidence the same day.

The window is short for a reason. Shrimp, fish, crabs and snails begin reacting to your water, your temperature and your acclimation routine as soon as a bag is opened, so after several hours we can no longer tell a transit loss apart from a tank issue. A claim that arrives after the 2-hour window cannot be approved, even when the animals clearly did not do well.

What to send us with a live arrival claim

We only ask for evidence that you can capture in the first few minutes after delivery. Send all of the following in one email:

One continuous unboxing video that starts with the sealed outer box and runs without stopping until every bag has been opened and the animals counted.
A clear photo of the shipping label and of the intact seal or tape on the box.
Photos of the affected animals, still in their bag where possible, with enough light to identify each one.
Your order number and the exact species or variant affected.
Your aquarium parameters: pH, GH and KH, TDS, temperature, tank size and how long the tank has been cycled.

What invalidates a claim

A video that starts after a bag is already open, an edited or interrupted recording, screenshots instead of the original file, or animals already moved into your aquarium. Once livestock enters your water we have no way to verify the condition it arrived in.

How we settle an approved live arrival claim

We count every animal that arrives dead, starting with the first one. There is no loss percentage you have to reach and no deduction for expected transit losses. If one shrimp out of ten arrives dead, that one shrimp is covered.

We settle an approved claim with replacement animals in the same quantity that arrived dead, supplied at no charge. A replacement parcel still needs its own oxygen, insulation and priority transit, so its shipping cost is yours.

Most keepers ask us to hold the replacement and add it to their next order. The animals then travel in the same box and you pay one shipping charge instead of two. A held replacement stays available for 6 months from the date we approve your claim. We cannot promise a specific replacement date, because availability depends on what is breeding well in our tanks at the time.

Coverage is limited to the purchase value of the animals that arrived dead. We do not refund shipping charges.

Report damaged or faulty equipment within 48 hours

Aquarium lights and accessories are covered for damage or a fault that is already present when the parcel arrives. Check and test every item within 48 hours of delivery and email us inside that window with photos of the item, the damage and the packaging it arrived in.

If we need the item back to resolve the claim, Shrimp Aquatics pays the return shipping. Once the fault is confirmed we refund the item value or send a replacement. Beyond that 48 hour window we do not offer a running warranty, so normal wear, accidental damage, incorrect installation and failures that appear after use are not covered.

When a parcel is lost, delayed or held by customs

If customs or quarantine holds, inspects or destroys your shipment while your own import paperwork is in order, or a delay runs long enough that the animals do not survive, we treat it as an approved live arrival claim on the livestock value. If the import itself was not allowed in your country, or a permit your law requires was missing, the loss is not covered. Email us your order number and the customs or carrier notice as soon as you receive it, and we will confirm how the claim is settled.

A delay is not the same as a loss. When a carrier is slow but the parcel is still moving, we cannot compensate for the delay itself. If the animals then arrive dead, the live arrival rules above still apply and the 2-hour reporting window runs from the actual delivery.

We also hold shipments ourselves when the weather at your destination turns extreme. A heat wave or a hard freeze at the delivery end kills more shipments than anything that happens in our tanks, so we would rather wait a few days and send the animals into survivable conditions. We email you when your order is on hold and again when it goes out.

Import rules are still the buyer’s responsibility. We ship worldwide, but reaching a country is not the same as clearing its border. Check your national rules for importing live aquatic animals before ordering, and email us first if you are unsure what your country allows.

Losses this guarantee cannot cover

Some outcomes sit outside anything we can verify or control:

Deliveries that fail because the address was wrong or incomplete, nobody was available to receive the parcel, or the carrier’s contact attempts went unanswered.
Livestock reported after the 2-hour window, or equipment reported after 48 hours.
Animals that die after acclimation, including deaths caused by an uncycled tank, unstable parameters or incompatible tank mates.
Claims sent without the continuous unboxing video.
Extra animals added to your box free of charge, which are a bonus rather than part of the order you paid for.
Breeding results, adult coloration, sex ratio and long term survival, none of which we can guarantee for any animal.

If your water or setup is a poor match for a species, tell us before you order rather than after. We would rather talk you into a different animal than process a claim we cannot approve.

How to file a claim with Shrimp Aquatics

Film the unboxing from the sealed box, then count and photograph anything that arrived dead or damaged.
Email contact@shrimpaquatics.com within 2 hours for livestock or 48 hours for equipment, with your order number, the evidence files and the remedy you prefer.
Keep the affected animals, the packaging and any faulty item until the claim is closed. Do not discard them, even if you have already sent the photos.
We answer every email within 24 hours on business days, and we confirm our decision on a claim within 2 business days of receiving the full evidence.

Claims are handled by email only, from contact@shrimpaquatics.com. If anything in this policy is unclear before you order, ask us first. It is much easier to prevent a loss than to settle one.