Thoughts on Dr. Reef

[RWhitt907]

Hi sorry to hear you lost the urchins, let me know when you place your order, leave a comment in the notes. I'll replace them at no cost to you.

No worries. I reached out I believe last week and you gave me the credit for them. I used it for a Midas Blenny, YWG and a pistol shrimp.

 

[Dr. Reef]

No worries. I reached out I believe last week and you gave me the credit for them. I used it for a Midas Blenny, YWG and a pistol shrimp.

Glad my team was able to get it taken care off.

 

[RWhitt907]

Oo, what did you buy!?

In total since April of last year I've ordered
Midas Blenny
Royal Gramma
Feather Duster
Cleaner Shrimp
Yasha Goby
Red Banded Pistol Shrimp
McCoskers Flasher Wrasse (sent 2 bc they don't ship particularly well. 1st lived but the other was DOA)
Splendid Pintail Fairy Wrasse
Assorted inverts
2 urchins. (Only real DOA ive had was the Halloween Urchin.)

Very good customer service on his end as well

 

[Dr. D]

+1 on Dr. Reef. Very happy with my first order of DaVinci clowns and Banggai cardinals. My second order is already in (splendid pintail fairy wrasse, pistol/goby, fire shrimp, chromis, fox face, hermits & snails). Can’t wait to meet them all. I’ve been rather flaky on preferred delivery dates and the response couldn’t be better.

 

[naterealbig]

Excellent experiences w Dr. Reefs here. Most recent was a pair of Red Sea Regals, which came in plump and beautiful. One was eating day 1 and the other began eating a couple days after. Several shipments of inverts always come in great, and are a very frequently overlooked part of a best-practice disease free system.

Prices for fish and inverts are lower than some of the retail shops in my city.

Most of all, every email i send is replied to promptly and completely. Questions about what the fish are eating, system specific gravity, compatibility, and availability are all answered with a friendly tone: perhaps the best qualities of this operation. 10/10 would recommend to my best reefing friends.

 

[EliMelly]

The entirety of my tank is from Dr Reef. The list goes as follows:

Snowflake Eel
Banded Snake Eel
Achilles Tang
Yellow Tang
Blonde Naso Tang
Gem Tang
Hippo Tang
White Tail Tang
Yellow Tang
2 Wantanabe Angels
Flame Angel
Moorish Idol (best fish)
Copperband
Midas Blenny
Starry Blenny
Royal Gramma
Two Gladiator Clowns
Leopard Wrasse
2 Cleaner Wrasse
Earmuff Wrasse
Diamond Goby
Mandarin
11 Lyretail Anthias

Will only ever get fish from Dr Reef!

 

[RWhitt907]

Oo, what did you

The entirety of my tank is from Dr Reef. The list goes as follows:

Snowflake Eel
Banded Snake Eel
Achilles Tang
Yellow Tang
Blonde Naso Tang
Gem Tang
Hippo Tang
White Tail Tang
Yellow Tang
2 Wantanabe Angels
Flame Angel
Moorish Idol (best fish)
Copperband
Midas Blenny
Starry Blenny
Royal Gramma
Two Gladiator Clowns
Leopard Wrasse
2 Cleaner Wrasse
Earmuff Wrasse
Diamond Goby
Mandarin
11 Lyretail Anthias

Will only ever get fish from Dr Reef!

That's a huge list. How big is the tank?

 

[AydenLincoln]

I've gotten 11 fish shipped from Mike. He has been quick to deal with DOAs and work with me on achieving success with more difficult fish (e.g., leopard wrasses). I would buy from him again, understanding that shipping fish across country is risky. Results below:

1. Tailspot blenny - DOA - body shape normal, i.e., not skinny or unhealthy looking, but clearly died in transit and was decomposing; replaced and reached a deal on shipping
2. Exquisite firefish - Alive - body shape normal, still alive and thriving
3. Tailspot blenny - Alive - body shape normal, stressed and showing stress spots, which is normal; still alive and eating my gorgonian polyps
4. High Fin Red Banded goby - Alive - body shape normal, appeared normal and healthy for ~ 1day, then went under the big rocks and never seen again
--> Also got fire shrimp, fighting conch and trochus snails in that order. Fire shrimp was alive and well until dying during a tank move and mistake on my part; fighting conch is still vacuuming
5. Yasha shrimp goby - Alive, but appeared very stressed, somewhat thin - paired with my candy cane pistol shrimp and is still alive and thriving
6. Court Jester Goby - Alive on arrival, but died after one day; two were sent in the same bag and one clearly died early in transit and fouled the bag water; had to do an expedited acclimation, and death appeared to be due to ammonia; asked for credit because I wanted a yellow wrasse
7. Leopard Wrasse Blue Star - Alive on arrival, but clearly injured; Mouth was bent sideways; body appeared healthy; did not survive acclimation; undoubtedly fatal injury from trying to dive in the bag; discussed with Mike and accorded to try shipment again with two different methods: 1) shipping with sand in the bag and 2) shipping with blacked out bags to reduce stress
8. Leopard Wrasse Blue Star (shipped in blacked out bag) - DOA - body shape normal
9. Leopard Wrasse Blue Star (shipped in bag with sand) - Alive - Body shape normal - behavior erratic - moved straight to a "landing pad" tank with rocks and sand, once buried in sand, eventually came out and began eating after a few days. Still alive and thriving
10. Yellow wrasse (H. chrysus) (shipped in blacked out bag) - Alive - body shape normal - rehomed
11. Yellow wrasse (H. chrysus) (shipped in bag with sand) - Alive - body shape normal - still alive and thriving

My assessment of Dr. Reef's operation is that the fish are healthy when shipped. Some errors in shipment could avoid fish losses, e.g., putting two fish in one bag (no idea if accident or on purpose). Speaking with Mike ahead of time about sensitive fish like sand sleeping wrasses would be beneficial in order to organize shipment in bags with sand.

As a side-note, there are reports of Dr. Reef's operation sending the wrong fish, particularly wrasses, either by accident or incorrectly IDing the wrasse. For some such as fairies, may be a good idea to contact Dr. Reef ahead of time to ensure that the right wrasse is sent--they often look very similar when female or beginning transition to males.

Couldn’t help but giggle about the blenny and emoji lol! Sorry…not sorry! How is the blenny now? Did he banished to another tank lol?

 

[EliMelly]

That's a huge list. How big is the tank?

200 gallons , zero aggression , everyone happy and healthy!

 

[RWhitt907]

200 gallons , zero aggression , everyone happy and healthy!

That's awesome. I'd love to have a big tank like that

 

[EliMelly]

That's awesome. I'd love to have a big tank like that

I’m sure it will happen if you’re seriously interested in it.

 

[RWhitt907]

I’m sure it will happen if you’re seriously interested in it.

I've been in the saltwater side about 2 years. The price tags hurt though lol

 

[JoJosReef]

Couldn’t help but giggle about the blenny and emoji lol! Sorry…not sorry! How is the blenny now? Did he banished to another tank lol?

Passed around September. May have been age related. They aren't the most long-lived fish and I'd had him already for a couple of years. Realized he wasn't there one day and never saw him again.

 

[EliMelly]

I've been in the saltwater side about 2 years. The price tags hurt though lol

I’ve been in about three. If you’re smart about it and not in a rush you can buy everything for Pennies on the dollar when buying used.