FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
FAQs
Q: Shipping - How do I know if my location is overnight shipping?
A: Much of Canada is in the one-day shipping range, however many small to medium towns do take 2 nights. This is a guide only but some examples of 2 night areas are as follows:
BC - Port Hardy, North of Merritt and East of Kamloops. Kelowna seems to be 9/ 10 times it is overnight.
AB - Outside of the Calgary/Edmonton corridor.
SK - Outside of Regina, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw
MB - Outside of Winnipeg
ON - North of Sudbury, but Thunder bay is Overnight. Most of the lower ON area is all overnight and OK to ship in winter
QC - Outside of the general area of Montreal to Quebec City and Sherbrooke.
All of the Atlantic provinces, NB, NS and Further east as well all of NL are all at least 2 night shipments.
There are options: In warmer weather we can send out 2-night shipments, but generally not in the winter months. We may notify you that we can ship overnight service somewhere relatively close to you where you can pick up your shipment. One example of Fed EX authorized pick up/drop off points is the Staples office stores. Full details found here (copy past link into browser) https://aquaristsacrosscanada.com/collections/shipping-codes
Q: Local Pick Up / Delivery - When can I pick up my order?
A: Local pick up can be picked up Tuesdays and Wednesday after 2pm and all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If these days do not work we offer shipping, and reduced shipping for greater Victoria, pick the Fed Ex option & I will deliver (aprox $40) and refund remainder. Orders placed for pickup must be picked up within 48 hours of when orders are placed, after that there is no guarantee on stock availability, anything not available may be replaced or refunded.
Q: Shipping - Your shipping seems quite high, is there a reason for this?
A: Yes, there is a reason. The health of the fish is our top priority, so we use FED EX's overnight service, that delivers to most of Canada overnight. Quick shipping ensures the fish are in bags for as little time as possible, and reduces ammonia exposure which can cause bacteria outbreaks after they arrive. We would like to see the fish come out of bags eating right away. Our shipping fee includes, heat-packs, pure oxygen in the bags, and insulated foam boxes, other online fish sellers will add those costs on top of the shipping cost. You also do not need to pick your fish up at an Airport as Fed Ex delivers in most cases right to your door, or neighborhood FED EX Pick up location. In addition our website offers tracking for you to easily track your purchase. Lastly because we do not have a minimum order requirement, shipping on a single fish will look very expensive, but on most orders, it is reasonable for the service you get, and healthy fish out of the box. A complete guide to our shipping can be found here. https://aquaristsacrosscanada.
Q: Shipping - There are many shipping options, which one do I choose?
A: This is actually simpler than it looks. We have put together various flat rate shipping fees that apply to different provinces, and order size. There are simply too many factors to have a one size fits all shipping fee. We have simplified it as much as possible to allow our customers to completely fulfill orders online. For instance, if you live in Alberta, you would choose the FED EX AB option, in Ontario, choose FED EX ON. At times your only option is for a quote to be emailed, as in cases of very large orders or you live in the eastern coastal provinces. Use the QUOTEME option when the pre-existing FED EX rates are not shown.
Q: Shipping - When I put my order in, how long can I expect to receive it?
A: Usually within a week, sometimes a day or 2, pending several factors such as when you put the order in, and how many orders are in front of it. We ship Tues and Wed, so for instance if you put your order in Thursday or Friday, you may not receive until the following Wednesday as we do not ship weekends, however if you put your order in Tuesday and we aren't backed up, you may receive it the following day. If however you chose FEDEX POR, price on request shipping option rather than the shipping option for your province, this will delay your order as we will have to email a shipping quote and wait for it to be paid before we send the order.
Q: Shipping - Do you ship to the US?
A: No, currently we do not offer US shipping due to many factors out of our control such as prohibitive costs, airline delays and legality of many species with each state having their own legislation. We have many CITES species legal in Canada but not legal in many or all states.
Q: Ordering - Can we make a group order (2 or more accounts shipped to one person)?
A: Yes, but there are rules.
1) The group leader (the person & place we ship to) must place an order and add special instructions "Group Leader". Select Fed Ex Quote Me for the shipping method. The group leader will be charged for all shipping and will need to collect from the participants their share of shipping. Group leader may change his shipping address to one of the participants, this needs to be included in the special instructions. Note: This ensures we communicate with the just 1 individual The Group Leader. If you write instructions then go back and add more stuff or even just browse you may need to re-enter your special instruction notes.
2) The participants must add in special instructions "Ship with Group Leader (name)". Select FED EX as the shipping method. Note: Failure to follow these rules may result in your order not being shipped with the group. If this happens you will be given the option to cancel or pay for your own shipping. Here. If you write instructions then go back and add more stuff or even just browse you may need to re-enter your special instruction notes.
3) Shipping Fees: If everyone pays the FED EX rates, there will be refunds for everyone. We will add up total order values and divide by your share. The result will be if your order is 25% of the total (Based on order dollar value) you will pay 25% of actual shipping fee, and you will receive a refund on you already paid shipping. This ensures everyone pays their fair share and remove the hassle of collecting shipping fees by the leader.
Q: Livestock - Do you quarantine your fish before selling?
Yes, all new arrivals go through a 4-day mandatory quarantine period before leaving the store. We will not ship sick, struggling, stressed fish, and if your order includes one of these, we may advise you to hold your order until it is safe to ship them, or remove from your order.
Q: Livestock - What is your arrive alive policy.
A: We offer an immediate fish refund on any fish that show up dead on arrival (DOA), and a 50% fish refund for 5 days thereafter, as a thrive guarantee. In addition, if 50% or more of the order arrives DOA we also refund 50% of the shipping. If by some chance 100% of the order is DOA, a fish refund as well as 50% shipping, or a second option may be offered, a one-time redo of the order with free shipping.
A complete guide to our arrive alive can be found here. https://aquaristsacrosscanada.
Q: Livestock - If some fish are unavailable will you ship me something else?
A: This is an option, while we do our best to keep inventory as accurate as possible, with 25,000 fish among 800 species this can be quite hard (especially the counting). We inventory every Thursday afternoon, but between that time and the ship day, mortalities can happen, fish can get quarantined, and fish are sold in store. None of those factors are reflective on the website quantities until it's updated weekly. We also will never send fish not asked for unless requested first. If an order cannot be completed to 75% fill rate, we will advise the customer to make modifications, wait for them to come back in stock before sending, or cancel and refund the order if requested. You may also add notes to your order offering substitutes if low/no stock.
Q: Livestock - Can I request certain fish that are not on the website?
A: No, our space is limited, and many species asked for may be unavailable or difficult to find at any given time, also what you’re looking for may be what no-one else is looking for, therefore we cannot offer special order species that aren't indicated on the website.
Q: Livestock - Some of the species I am looking for are not in stock on the website. When can I expect to see them back in stock?
A: We get a number of shipments in a month, there are no exact set dates for each order, we do however let you know when new orders are expected in on the banner, have a specific area for only new arrivals, and also under every species that is out of stock, you can request to be notified when that species comes back in stock via push notifications, Email or messenger, whichever option you choose.
Q: Livestock - Can I ask specifically for a male and or females of a given species?
A: If the species in question is Sexually Dimorphic meaning males and females are quite different in appearance, then yes if they are mature. However, many times even dimorphic species are difficult to sex because either they are too young to sex which is most often the case as many species we bring in as Juveniles or the dimorphism is extremely minute. Sexing specific species can be extremely time consuming when its difficult so we may do the best we can. if you are looking for specific ratios of male/female please leave a note for us in the cart.
Q: Communications - I asked a question through the built-in chat but have not received a response, why not?
A: The built-in chat is to communicate information, that the website or the FAQ cannot answer, or about your order. There are simply too many communications on the chat to also answer questions that are easily found on the website. We will not answer compatibility, preference or fish health questions unless they are from us and you just received them. These questions are up to you to research, such as compatibility, tank size and tank mates, before you purchase, this is part of the hobby you joined. Our website provides brief descriptions and basic information of each species of fish we carry, a great place to start your research.