Quarantined vs Non-Quarantined

The program, explained

We sell luxury and we sell cheap. There is deliberately nothing in between.

Not because we couldn’t invent a middle tier — because the biology doesn’t have one. An animal has either been through quarantine or it hasn’t. Buy quarantined and the risk is ours: our systems, our treatment courses, our guarantee. Buy non-quarantined and you are making one of two honest bets — you medicate and quarantine it yourself, or you put it straight into your display tank and hope. The first is a plan. The second is how whole tanks are lost. There is no best-of-both-worlds tier, here or anywhere else; anyone selling you one is selling you the hope. (You’ll sometimes see “quarantined” abbreviated as QT — same thing.)

Quarantined — the tier we built our name on

Every quarantined animal is quarantined to order. Nothing sits pre-quarantined on a shelf — your purchase starts the process, and the clock starts the day your animal reaches our facility. While it’s here, that means:

  • Isolated on arrival. New imports never share water with established stock. Cross-contamination is how wholesale disease becomes your disease, so it simply is not allowed to happen here.
  • Treated prophylactically. We treat for the parasites and infections that import stress actually causes — not a splash of something blue in the bag, a real course, dosed and finished. This is where the marine biology degree earns its keep.
  • Observed daily until boring. An animal leaves quarantine when it has been symptom-free and behaving normally long enough that watching it stops being interesting. Boring is the goal. Boring means healthy.
  • Eating in front of us. Nothing goes home until it has a demonstrated feeding response on food you can actually buy — not whatever it was eating on a reef three weeks ago.

How long it takes — and why you can’t rush it

  • Amphibians: up to 40 days.
  • Freshwater fish and invertebrates: up to 60 days.
  • Saltwater invertebrates and coral: up to 76 days.
  • Saltwater fish: up to 90 days.

These windows come from the parasites, not from us — marine ich cysts have been documented hatching as long as 72 days after they form, and only the free-swimming stage is treatable. Quarantine works by outlasting the clock, which is exactly why it is not a rush purchase and can’t be turned into one. If you need your livestock by a particular date, contact us before you order and we’ll schedule the arrival around it. You always know exactly where your animal is in the process.

The guarantee ladder

  • Non-quarantined, shipped: a 1-hour DOA (dead on arrival) window only.
  • Non-quarantined, in-store pickup: 48-hour live guarantee — bring a water sample from your aquarium.
  • Quarantined, shipped: 48-hour live guarantee from delivery.
  • Quarantined, in-store pickup: 14-day live guarantee — bring a water sample so we can test it before your livestock goes home.
  • Maintenance clients, monthly visits: 14-day live guarantee on quarantined livestock we install.
  • Maintenance clients we service at least twice a month: 2-month live guarantee on quarantined livestock we install. Nobody in the industry matches this.

No refunds, returns, or credits beyond your rung. Full terms live in the Livestock Guarantee Policy and the Shipping & Live Animal Policy.

Non-Quarantined — cheap, honestly

A non-quarantined animal is the same species from the same suppliers — sold straight from import, before our observation window, at a price that reflects that. It is also the tier that goes home now: no 40–90-day wait. If you run your own quarantine setup and know what a copper course is, this tier is priced for you, and we will happily talk you through what we would do with the animal.

Be clear-eyed about the trade: non-quarantined animals carry a 1-hour DOA window when shipped, or 48 hours with a water sample if you pick up in store — and nothing beyond that. Import is hard on fish. Most make it. Some do not. At this price, you are the quarantine department — and “I’ll keep a close eye on it” is not a quarantine protocol.

Which one should you buy?

If you are adding to an established display tank — especially one you have years invested in — buy Quarantined. The cheapest fish in your tank is the one that does not bring ich in with it.

If you are an experienced keeper with a proper quarantine system — or you genuinely need livestock this week and understand the trade — Non-Quarantined is a genuinely good deal, and we would rather sell it to you honestly than pretend every fish in the industry ships pre-cleaned. Just know which cheap buyer you are: the one with a plan, or the one with hope. Either way, day one at home matters — read the first 24 hours acclimation guide before the bag hits the water.

Questions about a specific animal? Ask Cameron. Not a chatbot, not a call center — the marine biologist who runs the quarantine.