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Sea Life Direct offers the best and healthiest aquaria available. Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, we acquire rare fish and invertebrates from all over the world and are continually searching for the best livestock. Our persistence allows you to choose from literally hundreds of species ranging from fish to invertebrates.

We've arranged our site to make your shopping experience as convenient and enjoyable as possible. Watch videos of the actual fish and read helpful tips on how to care for each individual species. Once you've made your decision we will carefully package and ship the livestock directly to your door so you can enjoy the new addition to your aquarium.

Packaging & Shipping

We use FedEx for all of our shipping. Rates are $69.99 for purchases under $200, $39.99 for purchases from $200 to $499.99, and free for purchases $500 and above.

In the interest of meeting your schedule, if 70% of your order is in stock, it will be shipped. Any missing items or substitutions will be marked on your order and your total will be adjusted accordingly. If you would prefer to be contacted if we are missing items, please let us know when placing your order in the comment field. However, this may delay your order. Due to the nature of our products, we cannot backorder live animals.

We ship within the United States year-round. Shipments generally arrive before 3 p.m. for residential deliveries and between 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for commercial addresses. Delivery times may vary depending on weather and location.

Arrive Alive Guarantee

We offer a five day "Arrive Alive" guarantee on all fish. This guarantees that every fish that leaves our tanks will arrive alive and remain alive for at least 5 days. Although Sea Life Direct strives to ensure the safe and healthy arrival of every shipment some exceptions do apply. Proper acclimation will help to address any issues that may arise during shipping.

Acclimation

Sea Life Direct makes every effort to ensure the safe and healthy arrival of your order; however, the very act of shipping will place a tremendous amount of stress on the livestock. Please follow the acclimation instructions below to achieve the best results.

Sea Life Direct ships packages in insulated boxes with heat or cool packs to protect the animals inside against extreme temperature shifts. However, there will be a difference between the temperature in the package and in your tank. Proper acclimation will help to equalize the two in a way to minimize stress.

It is very likely that your order will arrive to you with a different salinity than what your tank is adjusted to. A sudden change in salinity may shock the fish or coral and leave them more susceptible to infection or disease. Sea Life Direct recommends a salinity of around 1.019-1.023 for fish only systems with a slightly higher salinity of 1.024-1.026 for reef tanks. During shipping, the natural metabolic processes of the fish and coral will release toxic ammonia and carbon dioxide into the water, lowering the pH of the water. At lower ranges, harmful ammonia will be transformed into an inter form ammonium. If the pH is suddenly raised, the ammonium will release the ammonia and can harm the animals. Proper acclimation helps to raise the pH slowly, releasing and removing ammonia safely.

All new fish should be quarantined for at least 14 days prior to introduction to your display tank. It is becoming increasingly important to quarantine invertebrates and corals to avoid the introduction of pests and disease to your display. Quarantine invertebrates and corals separately from fish, to observe their health and inspect them for the presence of parasites.

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