Live Arrival Guarantee

Live Arrival Guarantee

Every coral arrives alive, or we make it right. That's the deal.

We're a small home-based coral farm, which means we know every frag personally before it ships. We photograph it under the same lighting we use in our system. We acclimate, stabilize, and watch each colony for weeks before listing it. We pack each order like we're sending it to ourselves.

But shipping a living animal is never zero-risk. Sometimes trucks sit in the sun. Sometimes a polyp doesn't make the trip. This guarantee covers the times when things don't go right.

What's covered

If your coral arrives DOA (dead on arrival), we'll replace it with the closest equivalent specimen we have available, or we'll issue store credit for the purchase price. Your choice.

What actually counts as DOA

A coral is DOA if it has full tissue loss, complete bleaching with no recovery potential, or has detached from its plug or skeleton during shipping.

A coral is not DOA if it's stressed, closed up, retracted, paled, or looking generally unimpressed with its travel experience. Most corals look terrible on arrival. They've just been in a box for 18 hours. Give them a week. Maybe two. Then judge.

Conditions

To qualify for the guarantee, all of the following need to be true:

The package shipped overnight via the method offered at checkout
Someone was home to receive the package on the scheduled delivery day (we ship Monday through Wednesday so deliveries land Tuesday through Thursday)
You opened the package and started acclimation within 2 hours of delivery
You took a photo of the coral inside its unopened, sealed bag with the time and date visible, before opening anything
You emailed us within 24 hours of delivery with the photo attached

That sealed-bag photo is non-negotiable. We know it's annoying. It's also the only way we can tell what happened during shipping versus what happened in your tank, and it keeps the guarantee available for everyone.

Weather

If the forecast along your shipping route drops below 40°F or climbs above 90°F at either end, we pause shipping until conditions improve, or you can add a heat pack or cold pack at checkout. We'll email you if we're delaying your order because of weather. We'd rather hold a coral for three extra days than send it into a freezer truck.

The guarantee does not cover weather-related loss when heat or cold pack add-ons were available and declined.

Acclimation

Every coral needs slow drip acclimation over 60 minutes minimum before going into your display. We mean it. Dropping a coral straight from the bag into your tank is the fastest way to lose it, and we can't replace corals that didn't survive their first hour at your house.

How to file a claim

Email us within 24 hours of delivery at [your email] with:

Your order number
The sealed-bag photo (the important one)
A short description of what you're seeing

We read every email and we'll respond within one business day with next steps.

What's not covered

Stress, color shifts, or sad-looking polyps that recover with time (this is normal, breathe)
Loss from tank conditions, pests, plumbing failures, or anything that happens after acclimation
Weather-related loss when heat or cold pack add-ons were declined
Refused or rescheduled deliveries (FedEx won't redeliver if you weren't home)
DOA reported more than 24 hours after delivery
DOA reported without the sealed-bag photo

Still have questions?

We'd genuinely rather talk you out of a bad purchase than process a claim later. If you're not sure about your tank, your local weather window, or whether a specific coral is right for where you are in the hobby, contact us. We're a small operation. We read everything. We'll help. You can reach out to us here: https://delightfulcoral.com/pages/contact

Now go build a reef.