Shipping & Weather

What happens if my order arrives dead or damaged on arrival?

Live animals can't be returned. Instead, shrimp are covered by our Live Arrival Guarantee below.

Live Arrival Guarantee

What you get for a dead-on-arrival (DOA) animal depends on the shipping you choose at checkout:

UPS Next Day Air, Next Day Air Saver or Next Day Air Early: a cash refund for each DOA animal, or a free replacement on our next ship day if you prefer.
UPS 2nd Day Air or 2nd Day Air A.M. (including free 2nd Day Air on orders of $200 or more): store credit for each DOA animal, or a free replacement on our next ship day if you prefer.
Fewer than 5 of one shrimp grade (1 to 4): covered only when the order ships by one of the three UPS Next Day options. Shrimp of a grade with fewer than 5 in the order aren't covered by 2nd Day Air, even when the same order has 5 or more of another grade; 5 or more of one grade keep their 2nd Day Air coverage.

How to make a claim

Within 2 hours of carrier-confirmed delivery, film the unopened shipping bag as you open it, with the shrimp visible. The bag must still be sealed when filming begins: it's the only way we can tell a shipping loss from an acclimation loss. Email the video and your order number to support@mossandmolt.com.

Not covered

Losses after the bag has been opened, or during or after acclimation.
Packages held at a carrier facility because delivery was refused or nobody was available.
Packages sent to an incorrect address entered at checkout.
Live animals in a shipment that needed a heat or cold pack, when the pack was offered in your cart and not added.

Items from our partner stores

Items provided by our partner stores (AquascapeGuide and AquaticMotiv) follow that partner's own dead-on-arrival and returns policy, shown on the item's page and on our Policies page, including its time limit and what to send. Claims for partner items still come to us at support@mossandmolt.com.

Questions about a claim: support@mossandmolt.com · Full Refund policy

When it ships

Moss & Molt live animals ship on Mondays and Tuesdays only, so they never sit in a carrier facility over a weekend.

Order Monday or Tuesday before 11 a.m.: it ships the same day.
Order after 11 a.m. on Monday: it ships Tuesday.
Order after 11 a.m. on Tuesday, or any time Wednesday through Sunday: it ships the next Monday.

We can’t ship live shrimp or snails to Maine (state law).

Days and times are Eastern time (Virginia Beach). UPS Next Day options arrive the next business day after it ships; UPS 2nd Day Air arrives two business days after. We email tracking when it ships, and if weather, a holiday or a closure moves your ship day, we email you the new date.

Plants, food and equipment from us ship Monday through Friday, but when an order mixes live animals with other items, everything ships together on the live animals’ ship day. AquascapeGuide items ship separately, on AquascapeGuide’s schedule.

Next safe ship day

At a glance

We ship live shrimp on Mondays and Tuesdays by UPS 2nd Day Air or a UPS Next Day service, your choice at checkout. The rate for your address is calculated at checkout. UPS 2nd Day Air is free on orders of $200 or more. We only ship when the weather is safe at both ends of the trip.

Where we ship

We ship to the lower 48 United States and Washington, D.C., except Maine. We don't ship live animals to Maine, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam or other U.S. territories, or outside the United States. Maine requires a state permit for the animals we sell, so our checkout can't send orders to a Maine address.

Shipping options

UPS 2nd Day Air: rate calculated at checkout. Free on orders of $200 or more.
UPS 2nd Day Air A.M.: business addresses only. Rate calculated at checkout.
UPS Next Day Air Saver, Next Day Air and Next Day Air Early: rate calculated at checkout.

The option you choose also sets your Live Arrival Guarantee: see our Refund policy. Fewer than 5 of one shrimp grade (1 to 4) are covered only on a Next Day option.

Ship days and processing time

Live animals ship on Mondays and Tuesdays only, so they never sit in a carrier facility over a weekend. Order Monday or Tuesday before 11 a.m. Eastern and it ships the same day; order after 11 a.m. Monday and it ships Tuesday; order after 11 a.m. Tuesday or any time Wednesday through Sunday and it ships the next Monday. Your order confirmation shows the date. The shrimp skip a feeding before they're bagged, which keeps their water clean in transit. You'll get a tracking number by email when your order ships. If weather, a holiday or a closure moves your ship day, we'll email you the new date.

Weather: temperature

We check the National Weather Service forecast at our end on ship day and at your address on delivery day. Cold limits use overnight lows; hot limits use daytime highs.

Any low below 20°F, or any high above 100°F: we hold your order until it's safe.
Any low below 40°F, or any high above 95°F: Next Day options only. If you chose 2nd Day Air, we'll contact you to upgrade or hold.
Any low below 45°F: your shrimp need a heat pack.
Any high above 85°F: your shrimp need a cold pack.
A trip that would need both a heat pack and a cold pack: we hold your order until it's safe.

Heat and cold packs. Enter your ZIP code in the weather check in your cart. When the forecast calls for one, you can add a heat or cold pack ($2.00); it is only offered when the weather needs one. If a needed pack is offered and you don't add it, our Live Arrival Guarantee doesn't cover the live animals in that shipment. If the forecast changes after you order and a pack becomes needed, we add it to the live animals we ship at no charge. Packs apply only to live animals we ship ourselves; items from our partner stores follow that partner's own policy.

A held order keeps its place in line and ships on the first safe ship day. You can ask for a refund instead while it's on hold. Held orders are never cancelled without your say-so.

Weather: storms

We delay shipping when a storm could strand your package, even if temperatures are safe. That includes any National Weather Service warning for a winter storm, blizzard, ice storm, heavy snow, flood, high wind, extreme heat or cold, tornado or severe thunderstorm; any hurricane or tropical storm watch or warning; and a forecast of snow, ice, sleet or freezing rain at either end of the trip. We ship on the first ship day after the storm passes.

Holidays, peak season and closures

We don't ship a package that would be in transit on a carrier holiday or reduced-service day: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas; the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve; or the day before any of these holidays. From late November through December carriers run heavy, so allow an extra day. We also pause shipping on days we're closed and during carrier emergencies.

Delivery day

Track your package and bring it inside as soon as it arrives. Don't leave it on a porch, in a mailbox or in a vehicle.
Start recording a video before you open the box and keep recording until the bags are open. You'll need it for a Live Arrival Guarantee claim.
Float the bags, then drip-acclimate. Instructions are in the box and on our Para-Medic page.
Keep the lights off for the first few hours.

Plants and dry goods

Plants, food and equipment ship by the options shown at checkout, Monday through Friday, and weather holds don't apply to them. If your order mixes our live animals with other items we ship, they all ship together on the live animals' ship day. Items from our partner stores (AquascapeGuide and AquaticMotiv) may ship directly from the partner, separately from the rest of your order, with their own tracking.