Dr. Reef sent me EXTRA fish, what should I do.

[josh57]

I have always had a great experience and highly recommend Dr. Reefs.

 

[SpyC]

You could just put it in classifieds for free. Someone will take it.

Then I should get a refund to cover shipping. I don't live in a popular reefing area. What may work for some does not work for all. The 'solution' should not pass problems on to the customer

 

[DaScubaSteve]

His prices are extremely competitive and sometimes actually cheaper than petco and other online vendors FOR QUARATINED FISH, and he warranties his fish. I recently recieved an order and all fish are extremely healthy, fat, and thriving.

at one point or another all these fish get shipped to LFS and Online vendors from around the world I'm curious what their mortality rates are, and how many of those fish that they recieve die weeks later of disease from the lfs or online vendors's dirty tanks. His long term survival rates of these fish are probably extremely high compared to all other vendors because he quarantines and knows how to help sick and injured fish

 

[EliMelly]

Then I should get a refund to cover shipping. I don't live in a popular reefing area. What may work for some does not work for all. The 'solution' should not pass problems on to the customer

That’s so ridiculous dude… comp you for the shipping? He already said he’s going to add it as an option…

 

[SpyC]

That’s so ridiculous dude… comp you for the shipping? He already said he’s going to add it as an option…

I'm replying to someone else...

 

[EliMelly]

I'm replying to someone else...

I’m aware

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I've received multiple orders from Dr. Reef, and he is AWESOME! Highly recommend! He fills a great need in this industry for providing healthy, disease-free livestock, and he goes the extra mile to help others. Great person to deal with, and it's my pleasure to recommend him. He's a blessing to our community for sure.

 

[Cool Fish]

Hi Everyone
This concern has been brought up a few times on different forums and also emailed to us regularly.

Answer to this question is:
We do ship extra fish on some species that do not ship well. For example: Chromis, Lyretail or dispar Anthia, Green Clown Gobies, Yellow coris wrasse, Melanarus wrasse, carpenter or Mccosker wrasse to name a few.
Reasoning is they dont ship well so we ship extra. When you place an order for example for 1 yellow coris, we reserve 2 in your name out of our inventory. If 1 doesnt survive the qt process we have a backup and you dont lose time waiting for a 2nd one to come and wait another 30 days. So mutliple fish are reserved for you. Once we ship we ship extra of that fish so in case 1 doesnt make shipping atleast you have a backup.

Now to the question what if both make it and I dont have room to keep both.
What we recommend is to keep 1 healthier/active looking fish in the main tank and other in acclimation box or sump or in a area where you can grab it back out easily. After 1 week has passed and you are comfortable to say one in main tank will settle and live well then take the extra one and give/gift/sell the other one to local fish store or fellow reefer or donate it to schools/aquariums/zoo's or another place where they can accomodate a fish. If all efforts fail keep it in the sump till you can find a home for it.
Normally your reserved fish would have been qted together, so likley they might coexist but not a guarantee.

Why do we do this?
Well no one likes to lose fish, Unfortunately it happens in shipping with some fragile fish. If you were to order and receive dead fish after waiting for a month it would not be a good expereince. Then you will have to wait another 30-45 days to receive a replacement which will also not leave a good taste, Also as a business point of view its cheaper to ship an extra fish than to pay for shipping, use more resources like labor, effort, packing material and sticker labels etc all over again to replace what we already know might be a problem shipping.

We are always looking for better source for these fish and once we do find a good source then extra fish will go away on that species.

If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to ask, We are very transparent on what we do and how we do it and if there is a problem or issue we do our best to make it right for you,

You will find our customer service top knotch.
Like Mike (dr. reef) always says, Hes not in it for money, rather passion for the hobby he has.

Wow! A business that actually cares about the customer! What a novel concept! Thank you!

 

[EliMelly]

Wow! A business that actually cares about the customer! What a novel concept! Thank you!

They seriously are the best! But some things will never make everyone happy

 

[claydogg84]

Then I should get a refund to cover shipping. I don't live in a popular reefing area. What may work for some does not work for all. The 'solution' should not pass problems on to the customer

Yikes - that's a crazy take. Some people are not meant to be made happy, and the task of trying to do so, is pointless.

 

[SpyC]

Yikes - that's a crazy take. Some people are not meant to be made happy, and the task of trying to do so, is pointless.

Shame on me for not finding it acceptable to push a problem to customers and finding the ‘options’ suggested by other customers unacceptable or burdensome. Dr Reef made it a question for if you can support the extra fish when ordering based on my concern which I greatly appreciate. Then customers came in saying my concern was absurd and I should take on a burden and accept the extra fish…and I am the one with a crazy take

 

[claydogg84]

I absolutely have looked, and they are not even close to what I can buy a fish for, set up my own QT tank, have full control of the process, and not lose half my fish because of it.

I wouldn't have complained at all about Dr Reef, I have always heard good things here at R2R, but after reading this thread I am not okay with their practices.

We got it - you think you're a superior being because you QT your own fish. You have no intention to buy from Dr. Reef, so what purpose, other than trolling him, are you here for?

 

[Fish Fan]

Shame on me for not finding it acceptable to push a problem to customers and finding the ‘options’ suggested by other customers unacceptable or burdensome. Dr Reef made it a question for if you can support the extra fish when ordering based on my concern which I greatly appreciate. Then customers came in saying my concern was absurd and I should take on a burden and accept the extra fish…and I am the one with a crazy take

Not at all, I couldn't agree more about all of this.

 

[Fish Fan]

We got it - you think you're a superior being because you QT your own fish. You have no intention to buy from Dr. Reef, so what purpose, other than trolling him, are you here for?

Wow, nothing I ever say comes from a belief that I think I'm a "superior" person or reefer than anyone else.

I simply cannot understand who would think getting "extra fish" is not a problem, and I can't get behind a process where "extra fish" need to be ordered and shipped because the vendor knows in advance the fish likely won't get to the buyer.

No one is "trolling". The OP put this info out here, and I have an opinion, and I believe it's valid.

 

[Fish Fan]

I imagine if one starts a multi page rant about receiving an unsolicited email from a sponsor/vendor, they for sure should about receiving an extra fish.

And, just to add, my posts on that thread are to this day STILL getting likes. I still get PM's about that thread telling me that they feel the same way. I even had a very, very well known business owner reach out to me to tell me they experienced the same thing, they think it's bad business, and they said they'd never do that kind of thing. Just sayin'.... Maybe I make *some* good points once in a while.

 

[bkreitler]

Hi Everyone
This concern has been brought up a few times on different forums and also emailed to us regularly.

Answer to this question is:
We do ship extra fish on some species that do not ship well. For example: Chromis, Lyretail or dispar Anthia, Green Clown Gobies, Yellow coris wrasse, Melanarus wrasse, carpenter or Mccosker wrasse to name a few.
Reasoning is they dont ship well so we ship extra. When you place an order for example for 1 yellow coris, we reserve 2 in your name out of our inventory. If 1 doesnt survive the qt process we have a backup and you dont lose time waiting for a 2nd one to come and wait another 30 days. So mutliple fish are reserved for you. Once we ship we ship extra of that fish so in case 1 doesnt make shipping atleast you have a backup.

Now to the question what if both make it and I dont have room to keep both.
What we recommend is to keep 1 healthier/active looking fish in the main tank and other in acclimation box or sump or in a area where you can grab it back out easily. After 1 week has passed and you are comfortable to say one in main tank will settle and live well then take the extra one and give/gift/sell the other one to local fish store or fellow reefer or donate it to schools/aquariums/zoo's or another place where they can accomodate a fish. If all efforts fail keep it in the sump till you can find a home for it.
Normally your reserved fish would have been qted together, so likley they might coexist but not a guarantee.

Why do we do this?
Well no one likes to lose fish, Unfortunately it happens in shipping with some fragile fish. If you were to order and receive dead fish after waiting for a month it would not be a good expereince. Then you will have to wait another 30-45 days to receive a replacement which will also not leave a good taste, Also as a business point of view its cheaper to ship an extra fish than to pay for shipping, use more resources like labor, effort, packing material and sticker labels etc all over again to replace what we already know might be a problem shipping.

We are always looking for better source for these fish and once we do find a good source then extra fish will go away on that species.

If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to ask, We are very transparent on what we do and how we do it and if there is a problem or issue we do our best to make it right for you,

You will find our customer service top knotch.
Like Mike (dr. reef) always says, Hes not in it for money, rather passion for the hobby he has.

Absolutely love Dr Reef's quarantined fish. It is really the only place that I purchase fish for my saltware reef tank and have been pleased with his services and products for over 4 years. I just purchased a large order that will be sent next Thursday. Dr Reef is great and definitely getting busy, but I still trust him and his quarantined fish. Never have had a problem and always grateful that he is in business. FANTASTIC!!! Thank you!!

 

[EliMelly]

And, just to add, my posts on that thread are to this day STILL getting likes. I still get PM's about that thread telling me that they feel the same way. I even had a very, very well known business owner reach out to me to tell me they experienced the same thing, they think it's bad business, and they said they'd never do that kind of thing. Just sayin'.... Maybe I make *some* good points once in a while.

I own a business and agree with you on your thread. I can’t stand when I get “promos” from unsolicited vendors.

In this regard though, Mike has gone above and beyond for clients, took the feedback from the three people who had issues with it, and made the necessary adjustments.

Is there anything else to discuss? Or can we all agree that Dr Reef has some really dang good service at this point.

 

[Fish Fan]

I own a business and agree with you on your thread. I can’t stand when I get “promos” from unsolicited vendors.

In this regard though, Mike has gone above and beyond for clients, took the feedback from the three people who had issues with it, and made the necessary adjustments.

Is there anything else to discuss? Or can we all agree that Dr Reef has some really dang good service at this point.

No, I have made my point that I believe the processes that "dr" reef is employing is adding unnecessarily to additional fish loses, in a hobby where loss is already unfortunately too high, and I cannot get behind that. Please consider that the level of customer service your enjoying comes at an additional cost to livestock. I hope your second eel is doing well for you

 

[Rollnwthdatide]

I literally used to manage a fish store, in my younger days. I understand loss, but how this guy charges the prices he does, and freely admits to these loses (greater than 25% by his own words here in this thread) I will never understand.

Why are you even in the hobby? You should be out lobbying to make it illegal to keep ANY fish based on your responses. How many fish had to die for you to get one? How many fish have to be collected and die through the entire process from collection to you buying them and QT'ing them yourself? Seems like you are just cherry picking what to be upset about.

 

[EliMelly]

No, I have made my point that I believe the processes that "dr" reef is employing is adding unnecessarily to additional fish loses, in a hobby where loss is already unfortunately too high, and I cannot get behind that. Please consider that the level of customer service your enjoying comes at an additional cost to livestock. I hope your second eel is doing well for you

No problem so we have different values in regard to the morality of shipping fish. That’s ok we’re all entitled to our own opinions. Second eel is doing wonderful thank you for asking but I didn’t lose the first due to shipping in case you’re wondering.