Our Quarantine Promise
Your fish waits here first.
Every animal we sell is held, watched and fed in our own systems before it is allowed near a shipping box. No fish leaves the day it lands. This page shows you exactly what happens in between.
Most fish in India are sold out of the box they arrived in.
A fish that has just travelled is dehydrated, stressed and immune-suppressed. Parasites and bacteria that were invisible in the exporter's tank surface three to ten days later — usually in your tank, after you have paid for it, and often taking your existing stock with it.
The industry norm is to move that risk onto the buyer. We hold it ourselves. That costs us tank space, feed, staff hours and a percentage of stock we never sell — which is the entire point. The losses happen here instead of in your aquarium.
What happens between arrival and dispatch
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Day 0 — Arrival
Unpack, test, float, log
Bags are opened in dim light. We test the transport water for temperature, pH and ammonia so we know how far the fish has drifted, then drip-acclimatise to our own parameters. Species, source, count and arrival condition are logged against a batch number. Responsibly Wild caught from Across India, licensed importers, own breeding.
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Days 1–3 — Rest
Dark, quiet, no food
No feeding, no handling, no photographs. Lights stay low and the tank stays bare so we can see waste, mucus and spots clearly. Anything that dies in this window tells us something about the whole batch, so it is examined, not just removed.
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Days 3–7 — Observation and first feed
Do they eat, and what do they eat?
We offer live and frozen first, then work each batch onto prepared food. A fish that will not eat does not get listed. This is also when we watch swimming, breathing rate, faeces and flashing — the four things that catch most problems before they are visible as symptoms.
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Days 7–14 — Treatment, only if indicated
We diagnose before we medicate
Prophylactic baths for wild imports; targeted treatment only on visible signs. Batches under treatment are held separately, on their own nets and buckets, and the clock restarts when treatment ends.
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Days 14–[EDIT: 21] — Clearance
Grown on, coloured up, cleared for sale
Full feeding, stable parameters, no medication in the water. Only after a clear stretch with zero losses does a batch move to the display and sales systems and become listed on the site.
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Dispatch day
Fasted, bagged, oxygenated, tracked
Fish are fasted 24–72 hours before packing so they do not foul the bag. We pack with pure oxygen, insulated boxes, and ship via Bluedart or Borzo. You get a tracking link and a dispatch update on WhatsApp at every stage.
What quarantine does and does not do
What we can promise
- The fish was alive, feeding and behaving normally in our system for at least 5-14 days.
- It was not shipped to you the week it entered the country.
- Visible disease, injury and runts were pulled out before listing.
- It is eating food you can actually buy.
- Its species-specific parameters were checked against what we publish on the product page.
What no seller can promise
- Sterility. Quarantine reduces risk sharply; it does not make a living animal pathogen-free.
- That transit will not stress the fish. Two days in a bag is hard on anything.
- That your tank is ready. Most losses in the first fortnight are water quality at the destination, not disease from the source.
- That you can skip your own quarantine. Please do not add new fish straight into a stocked display tank.
Our arrival policy: Please film an unboxing video before opening the bag — it is required for any DOA claim. Full terms on our shipping and arrival policy page.
Half the job is at your end
Our quarantine buys you a healthy animal. Keeping it healthy for the first fortnight is down to how it is received.
Before the box arrives
- Have a cycled tank ready — zero ammonia, zero nitrite.
- Match temperature to what is listed on the product page.
- Keep a bare quarantine tank if you already have stock.
The first hour
- Film the unboxing before you cut a bag.
- Float sealed for 20 minutes, then drip acclimatise.
- Do not add transport water to your tank.
- Lights off, no food for 24 hours.
Questions about a specific fish?
Message us on WhatsApp. You will get a person, and if we do not have a species in stock we will tell you when we expect it.