Terms and Conditions

1. Scope

These terms and conditions apply to all orders placed by consumers with a delivery address in Switzerland or the Principality of Liechtenstein through garnelenfischer (hereinafter the seller or operator), a brand of Valentin Fischer Services, Valentin Fischer, Pfäffikonerstrasse 38, 8834 Schindellegi.

Direct sales and marketplace. The operator sells only food in its own name, currently imported Japanese food, and will sell other products of its own, such as Chaotic Shrimp, only once they are actually available (see section 10). The operator does not sell or breed shrimp. Sections 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11 describe the legal framework for buying live dwarf shrimp. They do not create obligations for the operator as a seller, because the operator does not sell shrimp. Instead, they provide general guidance on purchases from marketplace sellers, where the purchase contract is made directly and exclusively between the customer and the seller.

2. Formation of the contract

The presentation of the operator's products in the shop (food and, once available, Chaotic Shrimp) is an invitation to place an order, rather than a binding offer. By submitting the order form, the customer makes an offer. The contract is formed only when the seller sends written confirmation by email, including the shipping date. The seller may decline an order without giving a reason, particularly if the requested goods are not available in sufficient quantities. This section does not apply to orders from marketplace sellers: under section 10, those contracts are made directly with the seller.

3. Prices and payment

All prices are in Swiss francs. The seller is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is charged or shown. Shipping costs of CHF 9.90 are added and waived for orders with a goods value of CHF 90 or more. Payment is by TWINT, invoice payable within ten days, bank transfer in advance or cash on collection. Reminder fees may be charged for late payment.

4. Minimum order quantity

There is no minimum order quantity for the operator's direct sales (food). For animal welfare reasons, marketplace sellers usually set their own minimum purchase of ten shrimp, because dwarf shrimp are social animals and show signs of stress in smaller groups. The quantity stated in the individual listing applies.

5. Delivery and transfer of risk

The operator ships only its own food. Orders are sent on Mondays and Wednesdays by PostPac Priority. The order deadlines are Sunday 20:00 and Tuesday 12:00 respectively. The operator does not ship live animals; each seller sets the shipping arrangements, packaging and dispatch dates for dwarf shrimp bought from them.

6. Shipping damage and shrimp arriving dead

This section concerns purchases of live dwarf shrimp from a marketplace seller. The operator does not sell shrimp and is not a party to the purchase contract. Unless the listing states otherwise, the seller makes no voluntary guarantee that the animals will arrive alive . This does not create a contractual entitlement to a replacement shipment or credit. The customer's statutory warranty rights against the seller under Art. 197 ff. OR remain fully unaffected and are not restricted by this section.

Visible shipping damage and animals that arrive dead must be reported to the seller as soon as possible; their contact details are in the listing. Under Art. 201 OR, the law requires notification as soon as is practicable in the ordinary course of business, and immediately on discovery for defects found later. Reporting on the day of delivery makes it considerably easier to establish the facts, as the animals' condition changes rapidly afterwards. There is no separate, shorter cut-off period than the statutory rule.

Suitable evidence includes an uninterrupted unboxing video, starting with the sealed parcel and showing the animals in the unopened bag; time-stamped photos of the unopened parcel and transport bag; tracking information; the delivery record; and the packaging itself. These are forms of evidence, not prerequisites for raising a complaint with the seller. Their absence may make the evidence harder to assess, but does not rule out a complaint.

The individual seller is the contact and decision-maker for a report, rather than the operator. The operator does not carry out its own assessment or promise to accept a return. It mediates and follows up on reports, but does not take the seller's place. The procedure is explained in the guide Shrimp arrived dead.

7. No right of withdrawal for live animals

Swiss law does not provide a statutory right of withdrawal for distance purchases, including purchases of live animals from a marketplace seller. Statutory warranty rights and the procedure for shipping damage under section 6 remain unaffected.

8. Warranty

For its own food and, once available, its other products, the operator is liable as the seller for defects under the statutory provisions. For dwarf shrimp bought from a marketplace seller, that seller is liable. Problems that arise only after acclimatisation and are caused by water parameters, tank maintenance or tank mates in the destination aquarium generally do not constitute a defect in the animals supplied. The operator provides free acclimatisation advice regardless of which seller supplied the animals.

9. Guidance on buying animals from a seller

Before buying live dwarf shrimp from a marketplace seller, the operator recommends a fully cycled aquarium of at least 20 litres. The listing explains whether and how the seller makes this a condition of sale. Animals must never be released into natural waterways. This section does not apply to food sold directly by the operator.

10. Marketplace and roles

Alongside its own food range, the operator runs a marketplace where third parties, hereinafter sellers, may offer dwarf shrimp they have bred themselves in Switzerland. For a seller's listing, the purchase contract is made between the customer and that seller, rather than the operator. The operator provides the platform and acts as an intermediary.

The seller is identified in every listing and on the corresponding seller profile. That seller is responsible for the animals' condition, packaging, shipping and warranty. The operator is the seller of its own food and, once actually available, its other products such as Chaotic Shrimp; these terms and conditions apply in full to those sales. The operator does not offer shrimp for sale.

Registration, seller profiles and listings are free. There is no commission, basic fee, monthly fee or listing fee. Anyone breeding their own shrimp in Switzerland can create a seller account themselves. There is no application procedure, waiting period or manual review before activation. The statement “Swiss-bred” is the seller's own declaration. Further rules are set out in the Marketplace guidelines.

11. Complaints and evidence

For visible shipping damage and animals that arrive dead, an uninterrupted unboxing video provides the clearest evidence: from the sealed parcel, including the shipping label, to the animals in the unopened bag. For a complaint to the seller under section 6, it is evidence, not a prerequisite. The operator does not require evidence of its own.

If there is no video, time-stamped photos of the unopened parcel and transport bag, along with other suitable evidence such as tracking information, the delivery record or the packaging itself, may be used. A missing video may make the evidence harder to assess, but does not by itself invalidate a complaint.

Rights concerning hidden defects that were not apparent during unboxing are reserved. The customer's statutory warranty rights against the individual seller remain unaffected; in particular, they do not lapse because a video cannot be provided.

12. Voluntary platform services, no active buyer protection

The operator does not process payments. It does not accept customer funds, hold back purchase amounts, operate an escrow or payment account, or make payouts to sellers. Buyer protection through payments secured by the platform is currently unavailable. Such protection is being prepared and will be introduced only once the necessary conditions are met; the Marketplace guidelines list those conditions individually.

Services such as forwarding reports, moderation after publication and removing listings are provided by the operator without a legal obligation to do so. The operator does not provide goodwill payments or replacements for dwarf shrimp purchases. A moderation decision by the operator is not a final determination of the legal rights between buyer and seller. Claims under the purchase contract exist independently and must be addressed to the individual seller under section 10.

13. Reviews

Marketplace reviews concern sellers, rather than individual animals or products. There is still no review system for the operator's own food or other products; no reviews are collected or published for them.

A review can be submitted only through a single-use review link. The seller creates this link in their account after confirming a completed sale for one of their listings and passes it to the buyer themselves. Each link can be used for exactly one review and expires after 60 days. The operator checks neither the purchase, payment nor handover; it cannot do so because it is not a party to the purchase contract. Reviews submitted this way are therefore labelled “Marketplace sale confirmed by the seller”, expressly not a checked or verified purchase.

Reviews consist of a star rating from 1 to 5 and a required written comment. The reviewed seller may reply publicly exactly once; a published reply remains unchanged. Signed-in users can report a review and give a reason. The operator may hide a reported review, particularly if it contains insults, false factual claims, third-party personal data, advertising or obvious abuse. There is no entitlement to publication, deletion of someone else's review or a particular average rating.

Deleting a seller account also removes its reviews. Reviews are never invented, bought or given in exchange for anything.

14. Data protection

The applicable policy is the Privacy policy.

Optional photo enhancement

Photo enhancement is an optional digital service provided by the operator, separate from the free marketplace. One photo unit includes AI-assisted enhancement of the submitted original and one round of corrections. Payment covers the editing service, not the transfer of Higgsfield access or provider credits. The contract for photo units is formed on payment confirmation. Generation starts only after the customer marks the desired shrimp in their account, explicitly starts the job, and the image passes the preliminary human and agent image checks. A target that is too small, obscured or out of focus is rejected without using a photo unit.

Individual photo units and packages do not expire. The photo subscription costs CHF 19 per billing month and credits ten units after each successfully paid monthly invoice. Unused subscription units expire at the end of that billing period. The subscription renews automatically for one month and can be cancelled in the account at any time, with effect at the end of the current billing period. Scheduling a cancellation stops future renewals only.

Swiss law does not provide a general right of withdrawal for ordinary online purchases. Mandatory rights relating to services that have not been provided or were provided inadequately remain unaffected. If a paid editing service cannot be completed permanently, the unit is credited back. If further performance is objectively impossible or unreasonable for the customer, the corresponding price is refunded.

Customers may submit only their own photos or images for which they hold the necessary rights. A real, live shrimp must be visible in the original; packaging, printed images and illustrations are rejected. Images containing people, contact details, number plates, health data or other sensitive information must not be uploaded. The result is edited by AI and labelled accordingly. Since generative systems may alter colour, markings or anatomy despite safeguards, customers must compare the original and result and deliberately select the image. Results are never applied automatically.

15. Applicable law and jurisdiction

Swiss law applies. The place of jurisdiction is Schindellegi, Canton Schwyz, unless mandatory statutory provisions require another jurisdiction.

Last updated: 16.09.2026