As we all have experienced of late, the cost of goods and services has increased. Due to pandemic, supply chain issues, labor shortage, stimulus increase of money supply, higher energy costs, squeezed carrier capacity, transportation lock-jams...etc. etc. you name it, we got it.

At Unique Corals, we are no different than any business in meeting these challenges.  We have tried to keep shipping costs low for our customers, in fact we have forestalled a few rate hikes, as seen here at end of 2019 and since.  However the time has come where we need to face the facts and adjust to the mounting costs of overnight shipping.

We use UPS overnight air shipping for our animals, packed with oxygen, heat or cold packs as needed. They are boxed in the afternoon, as to have the animals in bags as short number of hours as possible. Once we pack the animals, a shipping label is created, and the customer will receive an email with tracking information. So if you selected a receiving date in the future, your tracking information will arrive in the afternoon the day before. We are on Pacific Time, customers on the East Coast may see tracking info in the early evening. From there UPS boxes are sorted at the main facility, sent out to hubs on planes and then quickly moved onto trucks to get to your door by the next day. The heavier or larger the box, the more it will cost.  When you purchase a colony versus a frag for example, even if the box is the same size, shipping charge will be more. Most coral vendors will have a flat rate shipping charge and not metered, as is the case at Unique Corals.

If you were ever curious, take a look on UPS.com, and check out their overnight Air published shipping rates. You will find the charges for a 12"x12"x12" 15 lb box to be as high as $205 or more.  We do have a negotiated rate with carrier based on our standing with them, however overnight shipping is still one of the more costly variables. If something goes wrong, and the box is lost, damaged, delayed or stolen, there are even more costs involved.

In 2022 from 2021, UPS saw a rate increase of average of 5.9% https://www.refundretriever.com/blog/ups-general-rate-increases

"As you can see, the price increase for the domestic rates is above and below for different services. The two services with the highest price increase are next-day air and 3 day select, with an increase of 6.09% and 9.48%. With the Amazonification of e-commerce and buyer preferences, these are the two services that will see the greatest increase in usage in 2022. Customers want to ship at a lower cost and at their front door sooner."

As mentioned, we have not increase our rates in years. We can no longer keep it as it was. We thank you in advance for your kind understanding. Please note our new rates will be: $29.99 for overnight shipping of live coral and fish, free shipping at $225. $7.5 for shipping of dry-goods (UPS Group or USPS), free shipping at $100. Effective on April 1st. This is on par with our industry and we hope you will still have a very enjoyable experience shopping with us. We strive to please and aim for high standards in our selection, health of animals, customer service and satisfaction.

Realtor.com: Check Out Just How Luxe a Fish Tank Can Look: An Aquarium Upgrade Guide for Grownups

 By Jennifer Kelly Geddes

Some folks are splurging tens of thousands of dollars to install the type of watery paradise you might typically see in public zoos, spending as much as $750,000 on tanks weighing 75,000 pounds.

But if you’re thinking of diving into (or at least dipping a toe into) this trend, there are a few things you should know first. Here are a few factors to consider before you upgrade your fish tank, from amateur fun to a gorgeous centerpiece in your home.

How much does a fish tank cost?

(Photo via Houzz by The Fish Gallery)

You can cheap out and get a modest freshwater tank for about $200, says Larry Liberstein, owner of Aquarius Aquariums. However, if you’re going for impact, you’ll want one of the big boys, which means “a large reef aquarium that could easily cost more than $10,000.”

Don’t forget the cost of the fish, some of which carry price tags in the hundreds of dollars.

Ordering a tank that’s in stock is cheaper than having one custom-installed, of course, and the materials you pick can raise the price, too. (Glass may be more affordable than acrylic, particularly if you pick a stock dimension, but going the custom route has similar costs.)

Want to delve deeper? There’s a glass choice, too—but it’ll cost you.

“There’s the price for standard glass, which is the material most tanks are made from, and then there are tanks made from low-iron glass, which has superior clarity but is at least double the cost,” explains Liberstein.

Mike Park, retail manager at Manhattan Aquariums, urges potential fish fans to “know your budget going into this process.”

He says that when people see the floor model in his store and ask the price, their jaw drops.

“This is a labor of love, just like with any pet,” he says."

read on for full article

Let's start the year off right! 8 hours of incredible deals, a Plethora of Torches and other Euphyllia, $5 corals, UC Signature Exclusives, Rainbow Bubble tip Anemones and more!

Drops will be posted with a pic of WYSIWYG coral and pricing every five minutes on the Reef2Reef thread, and there will a link to shop and checkout. The item is not yours until you fully checkout. This is a FlashSale format, so things can move quick. Refresh often and don't get discouraged, we have plenty of fire throughout the event. And most importantly, have fun!

Reef2Reef Thread

There will be 3 winners from the random drawing, you'll automatically be entered! 
1st place - Frag of UC Mango Hurricane $199 Value
2nd place -2 Triton ICP tests 
3rd place - a Triton ICP test 

You must purchase a shipping module to participate in the LiveSale (unless you have paid for shipping on items from our main store, or purchased $150 or more in the main store). ALL SALES ARE FINAL, NO SUBSTITUTIONS. Please pick arrival date at checkout (we will default to the shipping module date).  Each purchaser will automatically be entered to Win! Names are drawn at random. Max 2 (two) $5 corals per person in total, for every $5 coral you must also purchase a non-$5 coral.) All backed by our robust guarantee. We automatically combine shipping.  Due to already heavily discounted prices, you must purchase a shipping module in order to participate in the FlashSale (unless have purchased $150 or more in the main store). ALL Corals sales are final, please no substitutions.

See what people are saying about us: Reviews

The safe arrival of your packages is very important to us. We want to see every animal and parcel get to your door in the shortest amount of time.

However, every Holiday season the shipping companies will experience bottlenecks, delays, and mishaps.  

For the time being, UPS is not guaranteeing delivery by 10:30am for overnight shipping at this time. When we create your label it will determine a time to expect the package. Most labels have been 3 pm, but some labels are saying End Of Day. Please check your tracking number to closely monitor delivery times. During this time of "no guarantee", UPS will not issue refunds or compensation for missed or delayed packages.  Thank you for your cooperation!

A whole week of incredible deals, with daily drops and lots of your favorite corals coming up.

Use code GOBBLEUP to receive 20% off all livestock. 

On Friday the 26th, we will have $5 doorbusters and a huge drop for you!

Wow these drygoods specials are the best of the year!

ICP-OES Lab Test + all Triton - 15% off
Neptune Systems - 10% off
Panta Rhei - 15% off
Marco Rocks- 15% off
Dalua Skimmers - 15% off
Illumagic - 15% off 
PaxBellum - 20% off 
Magsleeve - 20% off
RK2 UV systems - 20% off
Polyp Lab -15% off
DaStaCo. - 15% off, & super specials on open box items.

(Drygoods price as marked)

The latest feature in the Coral Magazine Online Forum,  by Matt Pedersen

Live Rock From Australia Lands In U.S.

03 Nov, 2021

California-based Unique Corals is showing off a rare offering in the reef aquarium hobby: Live Rock from Australia!

“Real” life rock was once a cornerstone of the reef aquarium hobby, and has pretty much been replaced by man-made or quarried rock options to form the foundation of a modern reef aquarium. If you wanted actual “live rock” that had been in the ocean, your options were pretty limited in recent years, mainly relying on aquaculture rock from Florida or a few other locations abroad. “Real” live rock, it seems, is now quite rare in the hobby, and with that, it’s noteworthy to share a recent announcement from Los Angeles area Unique Corals.

via Unique Corals

We have beautiful Australian Live Rock here and in stock at Unique!

These rocks have been sustainably harvested and are covered in stunning coralline calcification. This rock spent less than 4 days going from ocean to tank in the U.S.

Pieces are non-WYSIWYG’; shapes and sizes will vary. $19.99 per pound.

Order yours before they are all gone!

Unique Corals’ Joseph Caparatta shared a bit more of the back-story behind this rare and “unique” offering!

“We brought in some rock from a small coral collector in the Cairns region to establish help establish some biological needs for a science lab. The lab is planned around an Acropora spawning project in the U.S. with help from Dr. Jamie Craggs.

“Because the systems were set up only a month or so prior to the naturally occurring spawning dates, we needed something to jump-start the tanks. Along with some seasoned MarcoRocks from our Unique Corals systems, we all decided that some freshly collected Australian rock would be beneficial.

“We are now offering the surplus to everyone. Depending on how this goes we might decide to offer it on a regular basis if we are promised that collection sites are deemed non-impactful and spread out to different reefs.”

Have a spooktacular Halloween with great savings on some of the best corals around.

Just enter code SCARY at checkout to receive 20% off all of your coral, and cleanup items. 

Sale is Friday to Sunday.

We have had a ton of interest in our special Abalones. They sold out in less than a day. We expect more to be available soon. If you would like to be notified, please send us a message with your name and email to be added to the interest ilst.

These interesting animals are voracious algae eating machines.

Here's a recent article by Reefbuilders on our Abalones:

Rare Tropical Abalones Now Available from Unique Corals

Abalones are some of the most fascinating invertebrates in the ocean being specially adapted to live in habitats with very strong wave action so they can hold on to rocks and graze thick and tough algae growth. The only reason that abalones aren’t more widespread in the aquarium hobby is that most of the species are coldwater, however there are some species of tropical Abalones but these are either illegal or not practical to harvest. 

Most of the aquaculture of Haliotis abalones are of the larger growing coldwater species because these are consumed as food or for shell crafts but there are a few tropical species cultured in warm water environments such as the beautiful juveniles that just popped up on Unique corals. We are unsure of exactly which species of tropical abalone these are however we have reason to believe these are actually a hybrid and at currently only one inch long these small gastropods still have a lot of growing to do. 

You would think that large abalones would bulldoze around like a giant Turbo snail but we actually keep five inch specimens of the ass’s ear abalone, Haliotis asinina, and we are incredibly surprised at how delicately they move around the tank and in between the corals. These hardy gastropods live much longer than nearly all the typical cleanup snails and a single specimen can mow down as much tough algaes as an army of typical snails and despite having very flat shells they never flip over since they are always firmly attached to rocks or the tank walls. 

We’ve been looking out for more abalones to spread throughout our tanks for nearly three years and for all the work they do and how long they live, the $20 retail price of the red shelled abalones is an incredible value. Besides all of the work they do abalones are very beautiful and interesting creatures and it’s always a fun surprise to see them cruising around the tank, carefully avoiding corals, constantly on the lookout for the next thick patch of algae to graze on. [Unique Corals]

We have a fantastic instasale in store for you, there will be fireworks in September.

10am - 4pm pst both days, Sept 11th and 12th

Over 1300 WYSIWYG corals in all, lots of signature frags, Solomon exclusives, new vibrant torches, and everything else you want. All at up to 70% off!

Plus grab those $5 corals, and get UC Rewards too. (Max 3 (three) $5 corals per person in total, for every $5 coral you must also purchase a non-$5 coral.)

All backed by our robust guarantee. Check out as many times as you like, we will automatically combine shipping.

Three lucky winners! -One crazy UCSI coral frag -Two Triton ICP tests to two winners.

Drops will be announced on Instagram, appear in the store for purchase. 5-7 corals per batch, drops are approx. 5 minutes apart. Due to already heavily discounted prices, you must purchase a shipping module in order to participate in the FlashSale (unless you have paid for shipping on items from our main store, or have purchased $150 or more in the main store). ALL Corals sales are final, please no substitutions.

All corals on this page is part of the FLASH SALE, the most popular items typically go very fast, it may feel a little fast paced. Don't be discouraged, it's supposed to be fun, and for the deep discounts you betcha there's going to be competition. Make sure you have a fast stable connection, refresh often, and get your account ready with payment information (we recommend shop pay for fast checkout). Item is not yours until you completely check out. We automatically combine shipping. If you don't use your shipping module, we will refund it on Monday. You can select "local-pickup" to pick up your items the next week, no shipping module needed for pickup. Please make an appointment with the office for pickup.

We are excited to announce that Unique Corals will be making an appearance at Reef-A-Palooza Chicago 2021! We will be bringing an awesome collection of corals along with us, looking forward to seeing you all there!

Use this link for more details, travel planning, and tickets.

This round is going to be HOT!

Amazing deals for amazing corals. Euphyllia, Solomon Islands, collector's items, specialty items, and all the nice corals you want of every variety.

Killer deals at up to 75% off, $5 corals, win prizes, earn UC Rewards, all with the LiveStock guarantee! 

Three lucky winners!
-One crazy coral
-Two Triton ICP tests to two winner

This event will only take place on uniquecorals.com/collections/livesale and our instagram page instragram.com/uniquecorals, on Saturday 10am to 4pm pacific standard time. Starting at 10am, drops will be announced on Instagram, and appear in the store for purchase, each batch will be 5-7 corals, drops are approx. 5 minutes apart.

Due to already heavily discounted prices, you must purchase a shipping module in order to participate in the FlashSale (unless you have paid for shipping on items from our main store, or have purchased $150 or more in the main store). For every $5 coral, you must also purchase a non-$5 coral, limit of two $5 coral total per customer.

ALL Corals sales are final, please no substitutions.

This is a FLASH SALE format, the most popular items typically go very fast, it may feel a little fast paced. Don't be discouraged, it's supposed to be fun, and for the deep discounts you betcha there's going to be competition. Make sure you have a fast stable connection, refresh often, and get your account ready with payment information (we recommend shop pay for fast checkout).

The item is not yours until you completely check out. We automatically combine shipping. If you don't use your shipping module, we will refund it on Monday. You can select "local-pickup" to pick up your items the next week, no shipping module needed for pickup. Please make an appointment with the office before you come in.