Koi fish swimming in a concrete pond

As summer temperatures soar across the US, many customers become concerned with the health and safety of the live fish being shipped to them. This is a valid concern, as high temperatures in the shipping box can very quickly spell trouble for Koi and Goldfish.

However, we take many steps to combat the heat and keep your living jewels safe during the hottest part of the summer:

  • All fish are packaged with fresh well water that flows into our packing room at 54ºF. Meaning that your fish are cool, calm, and collected from the beginning.
  • Each and every shipment receives at least one ice pack, providing further cooling for the fish.
  • All packages are held in a temperature-controlled packing room until pick up, where the temperature remains at a cool 62ºF, no matter how hot it is outside.
  • Our UPS pickup is arranged to occur as late as possible in the day. This means that the fish avoid hours spent riding around in the back of a UPS truck with no air conditioning. Our pickup typically occurs after 5 PM, when the hottest part of the day has already passed.
  • After pickup, UPS takes our shipments straight to the sorting center and unloads them into a climate-controlled warehouse. This further avoids the hot temperatures in the back of a UPS truck.
  • Where applicable, all fish are shipped Next Day Air and guaranteed to arrive by 10:30 AM–12 PM local time. This means that your living jewels will arrive to you before temperatures start to soar around midday.*

For shipments to especially hot areas of the country, we offer further protection against the heat. At checkout, you will have the option to add a Climate Shield Insulated Liner to your shipment. And, for high-value shipments of $500 or more, you will have the option to upgrade to the Rolls Royce of koi shipping, our recently introduced Ultra Shield Insulated Cooler.

At Next Day Koi, we take great pride in ensuring that your live Koi and Goldfish arrive to you safe and sound, no matter the weather outside. Contact Us to discuss any reservations you may have about shipping Koi and Goldfish in the hottest summer months.

* Some rural zip codes do not guarantee delivery by 10:30 AM–12 PM and are instead only guaranteed to arrive by End of Day. Even shipments to End of Day zip codes typically arrive with no problem. You can check the guaranteed delivery time for Next Day Air using UPS’s Calculate Time and Cost tool. Enter zip code 27284 for “Ship From”. Contact Us to discuss options for protecting your shipments to End of Day zip codes.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *