If you package arrives and the coral isn’t looking good, don’t fret! Just follow these simple steps.

1. Photograph your coral, ideally in the original packaging as you’re unboxing it if there is an apparent issue upon receipt. Whatever the situation, shoot an email to shipping@detroitreefclub.com with pictures attached and a description of the issue you’re having.
2. Unpackage coral as you normally would. No acclimation is necessary – particularly if it appears the water quality in the bag has been compromised, moving the coral to fresh, clean water will only help. If your intention is to go right into your display tank without quarantining, and the coral is visibly loosing flesh or there is any concern of the new coral affecting the health of your reef, begin acclimating in a different container using some tank water, providing heat and some water flow will help greatly.
3. We will help you assess the situation from there. Often times when there is an issue, a coral will appear very stressed after shipping, and within a few hours we start to see a return to normal. If that is not the case, your purchase will be covered under our Livestock Guarantee.

All coral is shipped in styrofoam insulated boxes appropriately sized for your order, with heat or ice packs as necessary based on the weather.  We have a 99%+ survival rate shipping corals and have been doing it for decades!

Orders placed by 5pm will ship out the following shipping Day (FedEx & UPS shipments go out Monday through Friday for overnight delivery), but you can always pick your shipping/arrival day by simply adding the desired shipping schedule info in the comments on your order.  There are things that happen that prevent us from making shipments on some days; Import Schedules, Staffing Issues, etc, it is livestock, so there is only a small window each day for packing and shipping each day that we’re comfortable with so as not to prolong the experience for your livestock, we will always reach out ahead of time to coordinate any changes to schedule and do our best to not let it happen.

It is never a bad idea to dip corals, whether it’s necessary or not is a personal decision.

We dip and put all corals through a quarantine process as we import them, some longer than others depending on what we see with each shipment.  Once a week our team spends hours with dental tools combing our racks and corals, searching out any pests that we can find that may have made it into our tanks.

We are set up to grow coral – not just to house it until you take it home, so you can buy with confidence that every effort has been made, but nothing is 100% effective at eradicating all pests, so another dip will always decrease the likelihood of pests.

The other aspect of dipping is readying the coral tissues for a smooth transition into your tank, so particularly after shipping, which can be a stressful event; it’s a good idea to dip.

Aquaculture Grade is a designation that we use to identify coral that has been in captivity for at least 1 year. This is designed to call out those lineages of coral that have a proven track record living & thriving in captivity.