Our guarantees simply explained

1. Standard DOA Coverage (Included With Every Order)

Every shipment automatically includes our standard Dead on Arrival (DOA) coverage.

  • What to do: If an animal arrives deceased or in severe shape, please reach out to us as soon as possible within 2 hours after delivery. Just send over some clear video documentation so we can see what's going on.
  • Give them a chance: If a fish or invert looks a bit sluggish or stressed, we always encourage you to try the acclimation process anyway. Many fish species are known to look very stressed or even play dead, but very often bounce back beautifully once they're in a stable tank. However, remember to always let us know something might be off within the 2 hour window!
  • Important Note on Claims: For any DOA claim, please freeze the deceased specimen and keep it for 14 days. We rarely ask you to ship a loss back to us, but for high-value claims or unique situations, we might need to request the preserved specimen to verify the identity and figure out what went wrong. Holding onto the frozen specimen ensures your coverage stays valid!

2. Extended Guarantee Coverage (For Extra Peace of Mind)

We want you to feel confident long after delivery day. Most of our fish come with an Extended Guarantee, and you can sometimes choose between different coverage lengths at checkout. If your fish comes with an Extended Guarantee, it will be clearly stated on the product page. This coverage represents the confidence in the fish we ship out.

  • If something goes wrong: If a specimen takes a turn for the worse during your Extended Guarantee window, please reach out as soon as possible. We’re here to help! We'll gladly review your tank parameters, husbandry, acclimation, or compatibility to help you figure out what happened and work toward a fair resolution.
  • The 14-Day Rule Applies Here, Too: Just like with our DOA policy, please freeze and hold onto the deceased specimen for 14 days so we can keep your coverage active. Again, we probably won't ask you to ship the fish back, but for expensive fish, like a Neptune grouper, or for unusual claims, we most likely will, so please keep that in mind.

3. Feeding Guarantee (The Decamicron Standard)

We refuse to ship a starving animal. Every single fish we offer is fully conditioned and actively feeding on frozen foods (such as mysis or krill) at our facility before it is ever cleared for transit.

Where possible, we also do try to wean specimens onto pellets, but this is not guaranteed.

Our commitment to this standard means that if a fish does not meet our strict feeding benchmarks, it does not ship. While this rigorous selection process means some delicate specimens may unfortunately perish under our care, it ensures that whenever you order from Decamicron Labs, you never have to gamble on whether a weakened, non-feeding fish will compromise the stability and biosecurity of your system.

  • Proof of Feeding: We believe in absolute transparency. Upon request, we will gladly send you video documentation of the exact individual you will receive actively consuming frozen food (or pellets, only if successfully weaned).
  • Post-Transit Transition: Please keep in mind that shipping is a major life event for a fish. While we guarantee they are aggressive eaters at our facility, the stress of travel and a brand-new environment means that some individuals may not eat immediately upon arrival. This is normal behavior. We recommend offering familiar frozen foods once they have settled, and giving them time to adjust to their new surroundings.

A Quick Reminder: Because we are dealing with delicate live animals and every aquarium environment is unique, all coverage is subject to our full Terms of Service, including standard documentation and basic husbandry requirements.

For certain orders of sensitive or more expensive organisms, we may request you to take a video of your aquarium or ask for some information beforehand. If we do ask, it will usually be a short video and tankmate information. This is just to ensure that the fish will be a good fit for your aquarium.

When a DOA or Extended Guarantee claim is accepted, we will provide store credit or ship out a replacement animal. WYSIWYG listings will be store credit only for obvious reasons. However, we are unfortunately unable to offer direct refunds due to the fixed overhead of our operations. On top of that, we also take a direct loss whenever a fish passes during the conditioning period. We absorb these costs to ensure that only the healthiest fish arrive at your door while offering very competitive prices. We appreciate your understanding of why we operate on a solely credit-or-replacement basis.

If you ever have questions or just need some advice on acclimation, feeding, or compatibility, our team is always just a message away.