Livestock Quarantine & Holding Period (30 Days)

Click Here to Shop Our Selection of Aquarium Shrimp that have Cleared Our 30 Day Holding Period

Livestock Quarantine & Holding Period (30 Days)

At Flip Aquatics we take great pride in the health and quality of our livestock. We believe in growing the hobby and expanding the success people have with their livestock. We have all had some experience setting up the perfect aquarium only to lose the livestock to poor quality or condition. This can ruin the hobby for many people.

At Flip Aquatics, our goal is to set a new standard for health and quality of our livestock. Envisioning this process is why we have implemented our unique 30 day holding period for our shrimp(read more about our 30 day holding period below). Our snails and plants are held until deemed healthy and of a quality we would want in our own home aquarium. And lastly, we quarantine our fish for a 14 day period to treat multiple illnesses that are common in importing fish (see more below).

Here are the reasons why we started and are still implementing our livestock quarantine and holding period at Flip Aquatics.

1. Animals need stability when being shipped from point A to B to C to D. Usually you, the customer are point D. We, as a business are usually point B or C. So, holding our shrimp for30 days, gives them time to rest, eat and be ready for a trip to their new home. Holding our fish for 2 weeks allows us to treat non-visible parasites, illness from poorly conditions, and stress related illnesses (including bacterial and fungal issues). Monitoring our snails and plants allows us to observe them for unwanted pests/illness such as planaria, scuds, leeches, unwanted algal growth, etc. 
2. Medication is essential when receiving live animals. So often, we see bags of 400 shrimp, 200 fish, 100 snails, etc. It is obvious these animals are stressed with their shipping conditions and if even one of the 200 was sick, they all could be sick due to exposure. We take the time todiagnose & medicate every animal (if needed) that comes through our doors to ensure they are healthy before leaving. Medication doesn't take a day or two, it can take patience and re-treatment to ensure the animal is healthy. 
3. Early shrimp molting during shipping will cause issues during the first 30 days. Although we sell fish and snails, we started as a shrimp focused business. Shrimp typically molt during shipping which is usually caused due to stress. Molting early may not kill the shrimp but it will make the shrimps' next molt much more difficult. Shrimp molt roughly once per 30 days thus our 30 day quarantine was initially an idea to ensure the shrimp would survive their initial molt prior to the customer receiving them. Due to the initial molt being extremely hard on the shrimp, we knew that if the shrimp survived 30 days with us, they would be ready for their new home.
4. We take the loss, so you don't have to. If anything goes wrong, it usually happens during our 30 day holding and quarantine period. As hobbyists, we experience losses over and over again when buying animals that were not quarantined. If anything goes wrong with our live animals, we would rather it happen to us than to our customers. Therefore, our quarantine process for all livestock gives us time to see which animals will make it or which animals will die despite our experience and best efforts to keep them healthy. 

Our goal at Flip Aquatics is always to innovate and make changes to the aquarium hobby by ensuring our livestock are of the highest quality and standard so you the customer have the best chance at success. We will never knowingly ship livestock that are ill or sick, and if they require a longer quarantine or treatment, they will receive it. We always strive to grow the hobby, not hinder it.