At Shirley Aquatics we pride ourselves in the quality of our livestock and the care and attention that goes into the packing process. We have been selling quality livestock for 85 years and our longevity is partly owing to the service that we provide.
Upon receiving your fish, please first inspect the box for any damage and using a camera, document any that may have occurred in transit.
Open the box, but do not remove the bags from the box for 5 minutes to avoid light shock. These fish have been in darkness for the last 12 hours or more and need time to adjust before being taken out of the box.
After five minutes, you may remove the bags from the box for inspection. Assess the fish and document any DOA’s. We do our absolute best to pack our fish with the highest level of care, but occasionally the odd fish just doesn’t travel well and we will always refund them provided that we receive clear photographic evidence. Photos or videos should be of the fish in the bags they came in. DOA’s should be emailed to sh**@****************co.uk within 3 hours of arrival.
Inside the bags you will find some small rocks. This is Zeolite and we use it alongside Easy-Life Filter Medium liquid for all our livestock shipping to control harmful ammonia levels in the water. The Filter Medium may cause the water to appear cloudy. This can be discarded once the fish are removed from the bag.
We recommend drip acclimatisation for all fish as the best practice. If this is not possible, try to use a small cup to add water from the aquarium to the bag as part of the acclimatisation process. Whatever method you use, you should never put shop water into your aquarium. Ideally, you should turn your aquarium lights off before releasing the fish as it helps prevent any prolonged chasing from other livestock residing in the tank.
The aquarium must be treated with anti white spot treatment as standard after the addition of new fish. This is especially important during the colder months when fluctuations of temperature can trigger an outbreak white spot. Ideally, all new fish should be kept in a quarantine tank until you are entirely happy with their health.
Fish should be monitored for health over the next few days and so should water quality. If any issues arise, please contact us immediately with photos of the aquarium as well as a full water test (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, KH and temperature) carried out with liquid test kits. All our fish carry a 7 day guarantee that we will always honour as long as these steps are taken. We will not cover any fish that has been added to an inappropriate aquarium or kept in substandard conditions. Existing livestock is not included in our cover. Postage charge will not be refunded unless the entire order is DOA.
We will however not take responsibility for any mistakes made on the customer’s part that lead to any difficulties in the short or long term.
