Shipping Info

We ship all of our packages out of our warehouse located in Brownsburg, Indiana.

All of our packages are shipped via UPS Second Day Air or UPS Next Day Air if animals are included in the order. USPS is an option for plants and dry goods only.

UPS Second Day Air is a premium service that has two day delivery to nearly every address in the United States.

UPS Next Day Air is an overnight service to all continental addresses. We have been able to negotiate excellent rates with UPS, and our longtime customers will notice a 25%-60% savings when compared to our previous overnight shipping service. UPS Next Day Air is also guaranteed by 5pm the day after we ship. Since we pack overnight orders near the end of the day, this means your new fauna is only in transit for about 18 hours.

Please note: UPS Second Day Air and UPS Next Day Air is a description of the shipping time and service. Please refer below for up to date handling times. Using UPS Second Day Air and Next Day Air does not guarantee the package will be shipped on the second or next day.

Summer Weather Shipping Advisory
Handling times may be longer than posted due to potential extreme heat temperatures here in Brownsburg, IN where we are located or if the destination has extreme heat temperatures as well to make shipping unsafe for the animals. Summer is in full swing and we will be closely monitoring the weather in the area of delivery for every order. We will of course include styro lined packages and cold packs at no additional charge when necessary. But even then, if temperatures become too extreme delays will occur.  (we reserve the right to hold an order in extreme weather if we deem it is unsuitable to ship for the safety of the animals) You may always contact our Customer Service team via email at info@aquaticarts.com with any questions or concerns.

 

Our Normal Shipping Schedule by Carrier: 
UPS Next Day Air: Monday through Thursday
UPS Second Day Air: Monday through Wednesday
USPS Priority 2-3 Day Mail: Monday through Saturday
We can not ship UPS shipments to arrive on Saturdays, Sundays, or Mondays at this time. UPS does not delivery to 90% of the country on weekends.

 

Tracking Numbers are sent to the customer via email once an order is being prepared for shipment.

 

Shipping Options & Handling times for each option:
UPS Second Day Air (2-day transit time once shipped) Our current handling time is 1-7 business days
     - Pricing is by weight and will be calculated at checkout.
 
UPS Next Day Air (Delivery within 18 hours of being packed)
(Current handling time is 1-7 business days)

     - Pricing is by weight and will be calculated at checkout.

USPS 2-3 Day Mail (Only available for Plants and Dry Goods) (Handling time 3-7 business days)
 - Pricing is by weight and will be calculated at checkout.

 

Signatures are not required for any package (this includes both UPS and USPS shipments) but we highly encourage customers to be present to receive the package upon delivery if at all possible for the safety of our animals and plants.

 

 

PO Boxes: We do not ship Live Animals to PO Boxes. If you enter a PO Box address during checkout, you will receive a message that says: "There are no shipping methods available for your cart or destination". 

 

Handling Time

Our current handling time is typically 3 to 9 business days, although they can occasionally be longer. If you order with UPS Next Day Air (which is STRONGLY recommended during the winter as well as summer), your package will almost certainly ship within 1-7 business days. The only exception would be if temperatures are too extreme to safely ship the animals out. The handling time for a UPS Second Day Air order is variable based on outside temperatures, postal holidays, and the size of the order. During the summer and winter, UPS Second Day Air orders as well as USPS orders may have significant delays (up to 60 days in severe cases) before we can ship them to you due to extreme temperatures.  (we reserve the right to hold an order in extreme weather if we deem it is unsuitable to ship for the safety of the animals)

 Extreme Temperature Shipping Advisory

Delays in shipping may occur when temperatures in shipping destinations or here in Indianapolis, Indiana where we are located reach 90 degrees or more, overnight lows are 25 degrees or below, or when postal holidays occur for both UPS and USPS shipments. The temperature cut offs for UPS Next Day Air are above 100 degrees or overnight temperatures are below 20 degrees. We will send you an email when we print your shipping label, and that will be the day we ship your order out. This email will include your tracking number as well. Your package should take 2 days to arrive after that if you chose UPS 2nd Day Air or if you chose UPS Next Day Air your order would arrive the next day after shipment. If your order contains only plants or dry goods then your order may ship with USPS if that is the shipping option you chose at checkout.


 
Alaska and Hawaii Customers
Shipping to Hawaii is not available due to severe governmental restrictions.
Shipping to Alaska is by UPS Next Day Air Mail only. If you are ordering only plants or non-live products, please email us and we will make a custom invoice for you with much cheaper shipping. During the winter months we may have to cancel an order going to Alaska if it contains live animals as the weather can be too unpredictable and most shipments take longer than one day even with Next Day Air Shipping. Before placing an order to Alaska during the winter please contact us at info@aquaticarts.com to see if we will be able to ship to your area or not.
 
UPS Next Day Air is STRONGLY recommended during winter months even if you are in a warmer state. It is also STRONGLY recommended during the summer months if you are in a hotter state. See paragraph on handling time for more information. UPS Next Day Air will be required for all fish and some crayfish, crabs, and select snails and shrimp. (we reserve the right to hold an order in extreme weather if we deem it is unsuitable to ship for the safety of the animals)

 

* Update * For the safety of our animals, we now ship live fish, freshwater crabs, cherax crayfish, and sulawesi snails exclusively via UPS Next Day Air. If your order contains any of these items, your cart will automatically adjust so that you will only see UPS Next Day Air as a shipping option during checkout.

 We are also offering a lower-rate USPS shipping option for Plants & Dry Goods at the moment. This option will only be available if there are no live animals in your cart during checkout.

All Exotic Stones, driftwood, and house plants are shipped separately.

 

     Orders are shipped in our choice of boxes, but we usually ship in a heavy duty 8" x 8" x 8" box. Your order may be separated into multiple boxes.  If we split your order into multiple shipments, you will not be charged anything extra!  We cover the cost of doing this to make sure your order arrives safe. We will also include heat packs with orders when temperatures warrant a heat pack to be included at no cost to you.

 

     In the event of any problems with your shipment, please > CONTACT US < and we will be happy to help. All orders come with our 100% Live Arrival Guarantee at no charge. You can read more about our 100% Live Arrival Guarantee on our Live Arrival Guarantee page.

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