COVID-19 SAFETY PERCAUTIONS & INFORMATION AT J&L AQUATICS
Update: 11/09/20
Due to the increase in cases of Covid-19, effective November 9th, we have adjusted our protocols for visiting our brick and mortar location:
MASKS ARE NOW MANDANTORY TO ENTER THE STORE.
If you forgot yours or need one, please let us know prior to entering and we will provide you with a free disposable mask.
GROUPS ARE LIMITED TO 2 PEOPLE.
This is an effort to help practice social distancing as well as shortening wait times to get in the store if we are at capacity.
6 PERSON STORE AND 4 PERSON FISHROOM CAPACITY STILL IN EFFECT.
We realize that none of this is ideal but unfortunately, it is currently the world we live in. The animals are still our foremost concern and it is important that we stay healthy to care for them. 24/7 online shopping and curbside pickup are great options if you just need supplies. We and the animals thank you for your cooperation and patience in these trying times!
Update: 09/01/20
Effective September 1st we are moving to "new" regular hours. These are laid out below.
Tuesday – Friday: 12pm – 7pm
Saturday: 11-5pm
Update 07/27/20
SUMMER SALE
Current occupancy limits will still be in place for our annual Summer Sale. Please be patient!
In order to help minimize the line-up of customers, we kindly ask that you limit the amount of time you spend in the store. Realize that if you come with a group of 5 or 6 people, we will not be able to accommodate all if you in the store at once and the group will be split up.
At our closing time (7pm Friday, and 5pm Saturday through Monday), any line that is formed outside will be cut-off. This will hopefully curb any frustration of people waiting outside only to be informed that they can't come in after closing.
Livestock will not be on sale online or in-store. It is still too difficult to get a reliable, constant supply with favorable flight durations at reasonable freight costs.
Having a sale like this during the pandemic is new to all of us and we are learning as we go. We would like to stress that while you will miss out on some great in-store only deals, shopping online is always a great option.
Update: 06/30/20
Effective July 1st We are migrating to a mixed staff (no more staggered groups) and switching to summer hours.
Sunday, Monday, and Holidays: 12pm – 5pm
Tuesday – Friday: 1pm – 7pm
Saturday: 11-5pm
Starting July 3rd, we will begin shipping livestock on Wednesday and Friday for arrival Thursday and Saturday. We ask that if placing an order, please try and be flexible as to the days you can receive. This will only be airport to airport. There is still too many issues with UPS overnight for us to feel comfortable shipping that way – once this changes, we will inform you.
Incoming Livestock:
July 3rd: Indonesia fish and inverts (Confirmed – will believe it when we see it)
July 8th: US – Florida fish and inverts/clean-up crew, etc…
Part of the problem with incoming livestock shipments is that for some reason even though YVR is a major hub for eastern Asia, the shipments are only going direct to eastern destinations in Canada at this time which adds an extra day to the shipping time. Spending 2 or 3 days in transit is not very good for the animals so we have declined these proposed bookings ☹. HOPEFULLY this will change very soon.
|We will begin accepting cash again on July 1st. We do however ask that if you can to please continue to use debit/credit when making purchases if you can.
We have increased customers allowed in the store starting July 1st to 6 with 4 being allowed in the livestock area. We kindly ask you to still respect social distancing practices.
We hope that everyone is staying safe in these trying times and that you have a wonderful Canada Day!
Update: 05/27/20
Livestock Update
Just a quick heads up for those of you interested!
We are starting to see glimpses of things opening up for importation of livestock. That said, freight prices have increased greatly. What does that mean? In short, prices have to go up. We have tried to eat as much of this cost as possible, but we have been forced to increase prices on all fish and invertebrates in anticipation of these shipments coming in.
We would fully expect prices to eventually come down some, but in this environment who knows so expect to see fluctuations/changes after virtually every shipment if necessary.
Our first shipment is scheduled for June 4th (Indian Ocean) but we are not holding breath that it will actually make that date (fingers crossed it will though ????).
Reef Custodians and other Caribbean invertebrates/fish are still a no go since we cannot get flights into YVR (there are literally 6 flights a day out of the states coming into YVR right now). Again, hopefully we can find a temporary work-around, sooner rather than later but expect pricing to vary.
We have been able to secure a steady supply of tank raised fish, and have just had another shipment come in today (with Berghia even!), but the selection is pretty limited.
As for outgoing livestock, we still don’t “trust” sending things overnight via courier, and airlines are very limited and flights constantly changing and being cancelled. We would rather err on the side of caution for the animals sakes.
As things evolve, we will keep you apprised of the situation and we look forward to eventually having things get back to “normal”!
Updated: 04/07/20
Please note: As this is an ever-evolving situation, things may change at a moment's notice. We will do our utmost to keep everyone abreast of any changes as soon as possible.
It is important to remember that our (and the entire pet) industry is unique. We not only have ourselves to worry about, we also have the animal's health and welfare we all care so deeply about entrusted to us. Many of these precautions and the way we have set things up have been tailored so that they will receive the best care possible while keeping everyone here at J&L Aquatics as healthy and safe as possible.
Hours of operation:
Retail store hours will be changed to the following:
Monday - Friday: 10am-6pm (open to the public 11am-5pm)
Saturday - 11am-5pm (open to public start to close)
Sunday & Holidays - Noon -5pm (open to public start to close)
Website/Online ordering: OPEN 24/7
Shipping/Ordering:
Livestock shipping in or out is suspended until further notice.
Online and phone ordering and shipping is still available (online ordering 24/7). If you would like to pick-up in the store, that is not a problem, but please wait until we contact you that the order is ready. Because of our adjusted team member rotation, you may experience slight delays in shipping times. We will do our best to keep this to a minimum.
Curbside (at the store) pick-up is also available if you would like to pick-up but would like to avoid any contact.
Because all shipping companies we us have stopped offering guaranteed service, we cannot guarantee your order arrival time. This means that any frozen food orders are "order at your own risk". There will be no refunds on a food order that arrives thawed due to freight delays.
Occupancy Limits/Visiting Retail Location
We have limited the occupancy of the store for the safety of our staff and customers to a maximum of 5 individuals, 3 of which may be in the livestock room at any one time. Please try and maintain a safe distance (6 feet - 2 meters) at all times between yourself and our team members. We would also ask that you limit your time in the store to picking up what you require (livestock or dry goods) and try and keep browsing to a minimum.
Health and Recent Travel
If you, a family member, or someone you have been in contact with recently has not been feeling well, please DO NOT visit inside our retail location. You are more than welcome to place an order online and pick-up at the store during regular hours. Just let us know when you are here and we will drop off the package outside for you.
Trades & Exchanges
All trade-in livestock of any type (be it donation or credit) has been suspended until further notice).
Team Members
We have split shifted our team members so if you are used to someone working on a specific day and are coming in to see them, please check before you make the trip to the store - their days will be different.
Forms of Payment
We are currently NOT accepting cash as a form of payment.
Again, please keep in mind that this is something new for all of us and procedures are constantly changing to best suit the conditions. We will continually try to keep this page updated to the best of our ability. In the meantime it's business as usual online for us as we have dry good shipments arriving daily to keep us stocked up!
Stay safe everyone!