Frequently Asked Questions

Weekday UPS Priority Overnight delivery within the continental United States is $55, no matter how many fish you order. A larger order shares that shipping cost across more fish. Alaska and Hawaii customers should email Josh to confirm the destination and any additional carrier charge.

We ship overnight because we want your fish out of the box and into your aquarium as quickly as possible. Our goal is not just fish that arrive alive, but fish that arrive healthy and active. See shipping and delivery details.

Yes. Select an available arrival date from the calendar at checkout. Choose a day when you can bring the box indoors promptly and settle the fish into their prepared aquarium. Your tracking and acclimation instructions arrive by email.

Fish are individually sealed in pouches with pure oxygen and packed in insulated boxes. We check the forecast and adjust heat or cold packs for the route. If severe weather makes the trip unsafe, we reschedule. Getting your fish there healthy comes first.

Orders are normally sent without a signature requirement, but live fish should not sit outside in the heat or cold. Follow the tracking email and arrange to bring the box into a temperature-controlled space promptly. Carrier arrival times can vary.

Our current guarantee is the 30-day arrive-and-stay-healthy guarantee. If a fish arrives compromised or develops a problem during the first 30 days, email Josh promptly with your order number, the fish name, and a clear photo. For an arrival concern, photograph the fish while it is still in the sealed pouch.

Our goal is for you to remain excited about our company so if you have experienced any issue not covered in our guarantee please send us an email and we will still go far out of our way to make sure you are taken care of!

Have the aquarium ready before delivery day. Check the fish through the sealed pouch, then float the pouch for about 15 minutes until temperatures have stabilized. Open it over a bucket or bowl, gently guide the fish into a clean net, and transfer them promptly into the prepared aquarium, leaving most packing water behind. Work gently without prolonging the move.

Follow the instructions in your shipment email and our arrival guide. Email Josh promptly about any concern.

They are young fish whose sex we cannot yet guarantee, but we still make an educated selection for you. If you order one unsexed cichlid, we look for the fish we think is a male. A hint of color, body shape, behavior, and size compared with others from the same batch all help us choose. We do not just catch the first fish and call it good.

For unsexed cichlids of the same species and size, these are our selection targets, not guaranteed sexes:

• 1 fish: we try for 1 male.
• 2 fish: we try for 1 male and 1 female.
• 3 fish: we try for 1 male and 2 females.
• 4 fish: we try for 2 males and 2 females.
• 5 fish: we try for 2 males and 3 females.

Young fish can surprise even experienced eyes. For a different preference, leave a note at checkout and we will do our best. If you need a specific sex, choose a listed Male or Female option when available.

For color at a small size, mbuna and Victorian cichlids are some of our favorites. For larger, showy males, look at peacocks and haps. We also offer Tanganyikan cichlids for very different kinds of setups, including shell dwellers and rock-dwelling groups.

Build the group around the display you want, then match adult size, temperament, diet, and water needs to your tank. Our advice on mixing groups and raising young fish together below explains how we approach it.

Yes. We like smaller, colorful mbuna alongside larger, showier peacocks and haps. The trick is to give the more aggressive fish a size disadvantage. Start the mbuna smaller than their less aggressive tankmates, and give the whole group room to grow. Starting with young fish and raising them together is an approach we've had success with. We've seen groups thrive this way that would otherwise be considered incompatible.

Fish really do have individual personalities. We've seen fish from aggressive species act mild, fish from mild species act aggressive, and everything in between. A species' reputation gives you a starting point, but getting to know the fish in your own tank is part of the fun.

Follow the basics for size, tank space, diet, and stocking, then watch how your group gets along. Everyone should be able to eat and move freely. Adjust the mix as their personalities and adult sizes develop, rather than deciding what a fish will do from its species label alone.

We like letting a group grow up together instead of trying to fit unfamiliar adults into an established pecking order. Watching their color and personalities develop is a big part of the fun.

For a larger tank with room to grow them out, we like starting with groups of six young fish of a chosen species. It gives you more fish to select from as the males develop, and a better chance of finding that standout male. Plan for their adult sizes and be ready to adjust the group as they mature.

For a peacock-and-hap display built around male color, we recommend an all-male group when breeding is not your goal. Many mbuna have colorful females too, so females can still contribute plenty of color to that kind of display.

For the harem-breeding cichlids we keep in breeding groups, we start with at least two females per male. Groups closer to six females per male have worked well for us when breeding is the priority. Those are breeding-group ratios, separate from the selection targets for unsexed fish.

For a larger African cichlid display, we like a tank with six feet of swimming length. Choose length and floor space before height, and plan for adult fish rather than the size they are when they arrive. Smaller species and different setups need their own stocking plans; gallons alone do not tell us what will work.

For a 75-gallon mixed African cichlid display, our starting points are 15 fish lightly stocked, 20 moderately stocked, or 25 densely stocked. The chart below uses those same proportions for other tank sizes. Plan for the fish's adult sizes and swimming room, especially when choosing larger-growing species.

Fish counts are rounded down to whole fish.

For these mixed displays, we favor a fuller, well-matched group over just a few fish. In a lightly stocked tank, a dominant fish can keep picking on the same tankmate. A larger group spreads that attention around. We call this "chaos theory": the fish still chase, but there are more distractions and one fish is less likely to take all the pressure.

Stocking is a balance between aggression and water quality. Fewer fish means less waste, but it can mean more concentrated bullying. More fish puts more demand on established filtration, aeration, and water changes.

In suitable mixed displays, we also use smaller, assertive mbuna as what we call "dither" cichlids. Their activity helps divert attention between the larger males. Keep the size disadvantage described above, and watch that every fish can eat and move freely. Denser stocking is a technique for managing a group, not a substitute for enough tank space.

Have the tank heated, dechlorinated, aerated, and biologically ready before the fish arrive. Think of the filter as a garden where you grow the bacteria that process fish waste. Establish that biological filter before stocking; clear water alone does not tell you it is ready.

• Rinse the substrate before it goes in, and secure rockwork so digging fish cannot undermine it.
• Use a dependable heater and thermometer. We like a heater with an external temperature controller and a separate probe.
• Run an air pump and diffuser, with a check valve to prevent water siphoning back through the airline.
• Keep the filter and air running all the time. Put the lights on a timer, not the filter or air pump.
• Plan backup aeration for a power outage and have a straightforward way to change water.

Test ammonia and nitrite as the tank establishes and after adding fish; both should be zero. Keep feeding and new additions within what the established filter can handle.

We prefer working with your tap water when it already suits the fish, rather than constantly adjusting it. For our Rift Lake cichlid setups, the aim is stable, hard, alkaline water. Test your tap water and compare it with the needs of the species you are keeping before adding buffers or salts. Stability matters more than chasing a perfect number.

Use a conditioner for chlorine and chloramine whenever you add tap water. Do not use water from a household water softener for these setups. Make any necessary chemistry changes gradually.

78°F is our starting point for most African cichlid community setups. Use a dependable heater and a separate thermometer, and keep the temperature steady.

Warmer water increases metabolism: fish tend to be more active, eat more, and show more breeding behavior. It can also bring more aggression and a greater water-quality load. Make changes gradually and account for the species you keep.

Feed only as much as they will eat in about a minute. We like small meals that let you watch the whole group eat. If food is still lying around later, reduce the portion and remove the leftovers.

Our locally produced flake foods are a staple here. For mixed groups whose diets suit it, we like a meatier flake such as tropical mix or brine shrimp in the morning and spirulina or kelp flake in the evening. Keep plant-rich foods central for grazers; do not give every species the same rich-food menu.

Good equipment does not replace a good water change. Put partial water changes on a regular schedule, then use ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate tests to check that the schedule keeps up with your stocking and feeding. Ammonia and nitrite should be zero. Check more often after adding fish, and change water sooner when the tests call for it.

Make the job easy. We like a dedicated aquarium-safe container, hose, and pump so water can go to a drain and prepared replacement water can go back without carrying buckets. A sink-connected water changer is another useful option. Match the replacement water's temperature and treat it for chlorine and chloramine.

Treat the filter like the bacterial garden it is: rinse reusable biological media gently in water you have drained from the tank. Do not replace all the established biological media at once.

No. We recommend leaving activated carbon out of your everyday cichlid filtration. In our experience, mechanical and biological filtration, sensible feeding, and regular water changes are the best foundation for a healthy tank.

Keep carbon for a specific job, such as removing medication after treatment when the medication's instructions call for it. Use it when needed, rather than as a permanent part of your filter.

Our first option is to remove the bully. In a roomy tank, we have also used what we call a "bully buster": a much larger, calmer cichlid whose presence changes the pecking order. The goal is a settled "good king," not a bigger fish that does more damage.

Choose that fish for the actual tank and species, and keep a way to separate it. Protect any fish being injured straight away. A fish trapped in a corner or unable to eat is not just normal cichlid chasing.

Start with a water test and a look at the tank. Check ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and temperature, and make sure the filter and air are running. Ammonia and nitrite should be zero. If either is present, make a partial water change with temperature-matched water treated for chlorine and chloramine, then retest.

Watch the fish closely. Is it being chased away from food, breathing hard, scratching repeatedly, or showing white spots, sores, swelling, or damaged fins? Is one fish affected or several? Separate a fish being injured so it can get out of the line of fire.

Email Josh clear photos or a short video, your actual water-test readings, tank size, and fish list. Tell us when the problem started, what changed recently, and anything you have already added to the water. That gives us something useful to work with so we can help you choose the next step. Match any treatment to the problem and follow the product's directions.

Lighting toward the front helps show off your fish. Keep the lid clean so light can reach the water, and use a timer for a consistent day and night. Secure rockwork around digging fish. Plan cleaning access when arranging the aquarium, and watch the group every day: feeding time is a good chance to notice changes.

Our African cichlid care guide covers the basics in one place.

The magic is in the water. Our Utah farm is built around naturally warm, mineral-rich spring water. Each tank receives a complete exchange daily. That moving water is a defining part of how we raise and care for fish here.

Freshwater aquarium fish raised in Utah spring water since 1975, packed at the farm, and shipped overnight nationwide. Explore the springs and our family story.

Your order is selected and packed here, then shipped overnight directly to you. There is no wholesaler or retail stop between our farm and your home. That is the advantage we care about: a shorter trip from our tanks to yours, with the people caring for the fish available to answer your questions.

We want to be your fish supplier for the long run. Ask us about the fish and your tank before you order, and stay in touch after they arrive. Meet Live Fish Direct or browse the current fish categories.