Shipping Schedule

To ensure livestock safety, orders ship Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday only via UPS or FedEx Overnight service.

During checkout, please select a preferred shipping date.

Your delivery date will be the following day after the selected ship date, as all livestock is shipped overnight.

This policy helps prevent weekend delays and minimizes transit stress on livestock.

Shipping Fees

Shipping and packaging costs are fixed third-party carrier charges and are non-refundable under all circumstances.

Delays

Carrier delays are rare but can occur due to weather, operational disruptions, or mechanical issues.

While delays are outside of our control, we pack every order with insulated materials and temperature-control measures to maximize survival.

If a delay results in a DOA, proper documentation must still be submitted within 2 hours of delivery.

Any credits issued for delay-related DOA are limited to livestock value only.

Lost or Stolen Packages

It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure someone is available to receive the package at the time of delivery.

If you cannot be home, we strongly recommend holding your package at a local UPS or FedEx Customer Center for pickup.

Lost package claims will be handled on a case-by-case basis and investigated using carrier tracking data.

At Long Island Tropical, preparation and prevention are at the core of everything we do.

Our Health Standard is built on over 13 years of dedicated reef-keeping experience and a deep understanding of marine fish physiology, behavior, and disease management.

Every fish that enters our systems is carefully inspected, stabilized, and conditioned before it is ever offered for sale. Our goal is simple: to provide livestock that is healthy, feeding, and properly prepared for life in a reef aquarium.

We don’t rush livestock through our systems — we stabilize, observe, and prepare.

To support hobbyists with different levels of experience and quarantine setups, we offer two types of livestock preparation:

• Conditioned (Non-Quarantined) Fish

• Fully Quarantined Fish

Both follow the same foundational care standards outlined below.

Our Conditioning & Health Protocol

Every fish entering our systems undergoes:

• Careful selection and visual inspection upon arrival

• Slow acclimation to stable 1.024 reef salinity

• Daily observation of respiration, swimming behavior, and responsiveness

• Conditioning to prepared foods

• Monitoring for external parasites or behavioral abnormalities

• Final health assessment before being made available for sale

We also emphasize nutritional conditioning, as a well-fed and stable fish is far better equipped to transition successfully into a new aquarium.

Conditioned (Non-Quarantined) Fish

Our Conditioned Fish are stabilized, feeding, and closely observed in our systems but have not completed a full medical quarantine protocol.

These fish are ideal for hobbyists who maintain their own quarantine systems and prefer to conduct treatment protocols personally.

While these fish are carefully inspected and conditioned, we strongly recommend quarantining all new livestock before introducing it into a display aquarium, as disease may exist without visible symptoms.

Fully Quarantined Fish

Our Fully Quarantined Fish undergo an extended quarantine and treatment process designed to significantly reduce the risk of introducing common marine fish diseases.

This process includes:

• Extended observation period

• Praziquantel treatment targeting flukes and internal parasites

• Prophylactic management for common pathogens including Ich, Velvet, Brooklynella, and Uronema

• Continued feeding verification and behavioral monitoring

Fish that successfully complete this process are offered as Quarantined Specimens, providing hobbyists with an additional layer of preparation before introduction into their aquariums.

Why This Matters

Marine fish experience significant stress during collection, transport, and system transitions. Without proper stabilization and preparation, this stress can weaken immune response and increase disease susceptibility.

While no protocol in the marine aquarium industry can guarantee zero risk, The Long Island Tropical Health Standard is designed to improve fish health and maximize long-term success in your aquarium.

Every specimen is handled individually, monitored closely, and packed with care — because success in your aquarium starts long before the fish arrives at your door.

Live Arrival Guarantee

At Long Island Tropical, we guarantee that your livestock will arrive alive when shipped via our approved UPS or FedEx overnight services.

In the unlikely event of a Dead on Arrival (DOA), you must notify us within 2 hours of the recorded delivery time posted by UPS or FedEx.

To submit a DOA claim, please email:

• A 30-second video of the specimen inside the original, unopened shipping bag
• A clear photo of the specimen out of the water with the date visible in the image
• Any relevant information regarding the condition of the package and the recorded water temperature upon arrival

Failure to provide the required photo and video documentation within the 2-hour window will void the Live Arrival Guarantee.

Do not discard the specimen until we instruct you to do so.

Once your claim is reviewed and approved, we will issue store credit equal to the livestock value only. Shipping charges are non-refundable.

We do not offer cash refunds on live animals.

Returns

Due to the nature of live marine livestock, we do not accept returns under any circumstances.

Our guarantee applies to live arrival only.

Order Modifications

Order changes must be requested before 8:00 AM Eastern Time on the scheduled shipping day.

If you would like to add or modify items, please email us. We will adjust the order manually and either charge or refund the difference.

Orders placed separately before shipment may be combined at our discretion.

Livestock Variation

All livestock are live animals and natural variation is to be expected.

Photos on our website represent the species but do not guarantee exact coloration or size.

Sizes listed are approximate and may vary slightly.

If you have specific minimum or maximum size requirements, please contact us prior to ordering, and we will verify current inventory when possible.

Privacy & Security

Your privacy is important to us. Our website uses secure encryption to protect your personal and payment information.

Customer information is used solely for order processing, communication, and fulfillment. We may share necessary information with trusted service providers such as payment processors and shipping carriers strictly for the purpose of completing your order.

Long Island Tropical does NOT sell your personal information.

Contact Us

We’re here to help.

Whether you have questions about livestock availability, sizing, compatibility, shipping, or The Long Island Tropical Health Standard, we’re happy to assist.

📩 Email Us

LongIslandTropical@yahoo.com

Please include your order number (if applicable) and as much detail as possible so we can respond quickly and accurately.

Customer Support

We respond to emails in the order they are received.

As a dedicated two-person team, we personally handle livestock care, order fulfillment, and customer support. This allows us to maintain strict quality control and attention to detail — but we kindly ask for your patience while we respond.

We answer emails as quickly as possible, including weekends whenever available.

Before You Reach Out

For faster answers, please review:

• Our Live Arrival Guarantee
• Shipping & Returns
• The Long Island Tropical Health Standard

Many common questions are addressed there.

Important

If you are reporting a DOA (Dead on Arrival), you must contact us within 2 hours of delivery and include the required documentation outlined in our Live Arrival Guarantee policy.

Thank you for choosing Long Island Tropical.
We appreciate your support and look forward to helping you build a thriving reef.