Shipping Policy

Last updated: 10 October 2026

At Signature Frags, the health and welfare of our livestock comes first. We carefully pack and ship our corals to give them the best possible chance of arriving safely and in excellent condition.

This policy should be read alongside our Live Arrival Guarantee and Refund, DOA Guarantee & Returns Policy.

Charges, coverage and booking times

How your delivery charge is worked out

Delivery is priced by the number of shipping boxes your order requires. Check the delivery charge shown before payment. Any Saturday delivery supplement is shown when you select your delivery date.

UK delivery

Available delivery options depend on your postcode and courier coverage. If you are unsure whether we can deliver to your address, please contact us before ordering. Check delivery coverage.

Booking and making changes

For a new order, choose from the arrival dates currently offered in your basket. For an existing booking, check its displayed cutoff before adding corals or changing the arrival date. Booking cutoff times are shown in UK local time. Manage your delivery.

Shipping Days

Our normal livestock shipping days are:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

unless otherwise stated or agreed.

We do not normally dispatch livestock on Fridays or over weekends due to the increased risk of parcels being held within courier networks.

Weather & Livestock Safety

We reserve the right to postpone livestock shipping where we believe weather, transport disruption or other circumstances may present an unreasonable risk to the health of the animals.

This may include periods of extreme heat, extreme cold, severe weather or significant courier disruption.

If we recommend postponing shipment, we will contact you and arrange another suitable shipping date.

If a customer specifically asks us to dispatch livestock despite our recommendation that shipping should be postponed because of known adverse conditions, any resulting livestock loss may not be covered by our voluntary Live Arrival Guarantee where those conditions contributed to the loss.

This does not affect any statutory rights that cannot legally be excluded.

Delivery Service

Livestock orders are normally sent using a next-day courier service.

“Next-day” refers to the courier service selected and does not mean that delays can never occur.

Where a parcel is delayed while being transported by a courier arranged by Signature Frags, please contact us as soon as possible.

Eligible livestock losses resulting from courier delay will be dealt with in accordance with our Refund, DOA Guarantee & Returns Policy and your applicable statutory rights.

Tracking Your Delivery

Tracking information is supplied for shipped orders.

Customers should monitor their tracking on the expected delivery day and ensure someone is available to receive the parcel.

If tracking indicates that a delivery is delayed or there is another problem, please contact both Signature Frags and the courier promptly so that the issue can be investigated.

Missed, Redirected or Rescheduled Deliveries

Live coral is time-sensitive and should be delivered and unpacked as quickly as possible.

Where a delivery attempt is missed because nobody is available to receive the parcel, or where the customer asks the courier to redirect, postpone, reschedule or otherwise alter the delivery, eligibility under our voluntary Live Arrival Guarantee may be affected where that action contributes to the livestock loss.

Please avoid making delivery changes directly with the courier without first considering the effect additional transit time may have on the livestock.

Delivered but Unable to Locate the Parcel

If courier tracking shows your parcel as delivered but you cannot locate it, please contact Signature Frags and the courier immediately so that the delivery can be investigated.

Responsibility for the parcel will be determined according to the circumstances of the delivery and applicable consumer law.

Where a parcel has been physically received by you, or by another person or location specifically nominated by you where legally applicable, responsibility for promptly unpacking and caring for the livestock passes to you.

Coral Condition Following Shipping

Shipping is naturally stressful for live coral.

Following transport, a coral may temporarily display:

  • reduced or absent polyp extension;
  • temporary loss or reduction of colour;
  • mucus production;
  • retracted tissue; or
  • other temporary signs of shipping stress.

These signs do not necessarily mean that a coral is unhealthy or Dead on Arrival.

We make every reasonable effort to ship healthy livestock and for corals to arrive displaying the colour and condition represented on our website. However, coral colour and appearance can also change according to transport stress, aquarium lighting, water chemistry, flow and acclimation.

Temporary shipping stress or colour change alone is not normally considered a DOA.

24-Hour Coral Guarantee

Our 24-Hour Coral Guarantee covers corals that arrive dead or die within 24 hours of delivery, subject to the care conditions in our Refund, DOA Guarantee & Returns Policy.

If you have any concern about a coral, please let us know within 24 hours of delivery, even if the coral is still alive. Contact us as soon as you notice a problem so we can help.

Please provide your order number and clear, sharply focused photographs under neutral white lighting, showing the whole affected coral and a close-up of its condition. Images must be clear enough for us to assess the concern. If they are blurred, poorly lit or inconclusive, we may request clearer photographs or a short video before deciding the claim.

If a bag arrives cloudy, take a quick photograph before opening it, where possible, and let us know promptly. If the coral is alive, follow our acclimation and introduction instructions without delay. Do not keep a living coral in its sealed shipping bag while waiting for our reply. Monitor that coral and document any deterioration.

Full care conditions and replacement or livestock-credit arrangements are contained in our Refund, DOA Guarantee & Returns Policy. Your statutory rights are unaffected.

Dipping Newly Shipped Corals

We recommend exercising caution when dipping freshly shipped coral.

Corals may already be stressed following transport, and overly strong dips, incorrect concentrations or products unsuitable for coral can cause tissue damage or death.

Once livestock has been removed from its shipping bag and introduced to a customer's aquarium, numerous environmental and husbandry factors are outside our control.

Please refer to our full Live Arrival / DOA terms before dipping newly delivered livestock.