Moe's Aquatics preferred shipping service is UPS.
We generally ship snails and shrimp UPS 2-Day, and fish overnight. Some fish can handle the longer trip, and if so, we may elect to go the cheaper route after reaching out to you to discuss your options. If you are located in Washington State, we offer ground shipping as an alternative to overnight but do not guarantee overnight shipping. Unfortunately, with how shipping has been as of late, UPS 2-Day can take upwards to 4 days, so we do not guarantee timely shipping delivery when this shipping speed is selected but will guarantee that the animals arrive alive.
Shipping Speed: Overnight shipping is guaranteed only when the fish arrives DOA. I know that can be harsh – you paid for overnight, UPS delayed it by a day, but your fish arrived OK. Maybe a little shaken, but OK. With that said, if they delay it then I always reach out to them for a refund and if it's approved - I will refund your shipping costs (less $5 for packaging).
Fasting: To prep the fish we fast them for 2 days prior to shipment. Orders made by Friday can go out Monday, ordered by Saturday go out Tuesday, etc. At this time we only ship 2/3 Day UPS on Monday and Tuesday. We will ship overnight on Wednesday. We also prefer not to ship 2 day when a bank holiday occurs the same week.
Holidays/Seasons: We do not ship live animals or plants from the weekend before Thanksgiving, to January 15th. If we elect to do so because your temperatures are warm enough, it will be overnight only and only snails, plants, or shrimp. In the same token, shipping to hot climates may be delayed due to extreme temperatures. This is usually sometime between July to early September.
Temperature Control: Heat packs and cold packs are always included free of charge. In some cases, even in cold weather (or hot weather) extra temperature control can be handled with insulation alone.