Prepared for Google Merchant Center policy feedback, case 5-4645000042127. This page documents how Treasure Corals sources, grows and transports live coral. It is a factual reference, not a marketing page.
1. Who we are
Treasure Corals is a family-owned coral aquaculture facility in Vaughan, Ontario, just north of Toronto. We maintain 145+ coral lineages, with a focus on Acropora, and sell only frags propagated in our own systems. The business also designs and 3D-prints reef-keeping accessories, which are sold internationally and are unaffected by this matter.
- Physical address: 257 Golden Forest Rd, Maple, ON, L6A 0S8, Canada
- Contact: [email protected] · (416) 803-3050
- Owner: Dmitry Tumanov, featured in the AquaIllumination Signature Series
2. What we sell and what we do not
- Only captive-propagated coral. Every frag offered for sale was cut from broodstock in our facility and grown out for months, often years, before listing.
- No wild-collected coral is sold. We do not import colonies for resale or sell freshly cut pieces of imported stock.
- Canada only. Live coral ships within Canada exclusively. We do not ship coral internationally, so no cross-border movement of live animals is involved in any sale.
3. Regulatory status (CITES)
Corals are animals (phylum Cnidaria). All stony corals (order Scleractinia, which includes the Acropora, Montipora, Euphyllia, Favia, chalice and birdsnest lineages we grow) are listed in CITES Appendix II. Corallimorphs (mushroom corals) are not CITES-listed.
Canada implements CITES through the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA), administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. CITES permits govern import and export. Because all of our coral sales are domestic, no CITES permit is required for any transaction on this site; the permit chain applies to the original entry of broodstock into Canada.
Broodstock provenance. All founding colonies were acquired from Canadian wholesalers and coral farms, each a licensed importer holding the applicable CITES import permits. Treasure Corals has not imported coral directly. Copies of the acquisition and permit documentation are available on request.
4. Aquaculture practices
- Quarantine. All incoming broodstock is quarantined and treated with dipping protocols before entering the main system. The grow-out system is maintained pest-free.
- Grow-out, not chopping. Frags are cut, allowed to heal and encrust fully onto their base, and grown until showing stable growth. We do not ship a frag that is not fully healed.
- Continuous monitoring. Water chemistry and lighting are logged continuously. Our live parameter dashboard is public: aquaticlog.com/treasurecorals.
- Transparency on what ships. Each lineage listing shows the mother colony and a typical frag from that lineage under our lighting; customers receive a photo or video of their actual corals before shipment.
Public video record of the facility, from our channel @TreasureCorals on YouTube:
5. Transport practices
Our shipping procedure is built around the single variable that determines coral survival in transit: time in the bag.
- Carrier: FedEx Priority Overnight, delivered by noon at most Canadian addresses.
- Ship days: Monday to Thursday only. No Friday or pre-holiday shipping, so no animal sits in a depot over a weekend.
- Packing window: Corals are packed minutes before the scheduled 3:00 pm pickup. Typical door-to-door time is under 21 hours.
- Packaging: Each frag is bagged individually in a large water volume, boxed with insulation, and a heat pack is added whenever forecast temperatures along the route are low. Boxes are sealed and labelled.
- Weather holds: Shipments are delayed or rescheduled when extreme weather or carrier disruptions could put the animals at risk.
- Recipient coordination: Delivery day is confirmed with the customer by text or email in advance, and someone must be home to receive on the first attempt. We call after delivery to confirm condition.
- Live-arrival guarantee: Corals are guaranteed alive on arrival, with a documented DOA claim process and store-credit remedy.
- Local alternatives: Same-day courier and local pickup are offered across the Greater Toronto Area, avoiding carrier transit entirely.
Packing sequence, as published on our shipping page:
6. Why the transport risk profile differs from other live animals
We recognise that corals are animals and that Google's restriction is written around the transportation of live animals. The relevant facts for a policy reviewer are:
- Corals are sessile: a frag is a small piece of tissue permanently attached to a ceramic or stone base. It cannot move, escape, bite, or be injured by handling in the way a mobile animal can.
- Corals have no central nervous system and are not considered sentient under any animal-welfare framework we are aware of; they are not covered by transport welfare rules that apply to vertebrates.
- Transit requires no feeding, watering, ventilation or attendance. The animal travels in a sealed bag of its own aquarium water, exactly as aquarium plants and invertebrates do.
- Propagated coral is a conservation-positive product: every farmed frag sold displaces demand for wild-collected coral.
7. Industry context
Aquacultured coral frags are sold openly and legally by established retailers throughout Canada and the United States, shipped by the same overnight carriers and under the same live-arrival guarantees described above. It is a mature, regulated segment of the aquarium trade, distinct from the trade in wild-collected or endangered specimens.
8. Supporting records available on request
- Broodstock acquisition records and the suppliers' CITES import documentation
- FedEx shipment history for live coral orders, with delivery timestamps
- DOA claim records and resolution rate
- Facility photographs and video walkthroughs
Last updated: September 2026
