djkms
Active Member
I have been purchasing fish from Live Aquaria Diver's Den for well over a decade. For may years they were the go to for quarantined fish. They are still decent but have seemed to go downhill since they were acquired by Petco.
I read many of reviews both praising and critical of Dr. Reef but figured I would give them a try for my new 600 gallon build (lot of fish to buy).
I originally emailed them with questions and received a response within a couple hours. This has been their typical turnaround time with every correspondence since. For me, communication is critical and is what sets apart average companies from great companies. They have kept me updated every step of the process.
Honestly one of the best parts of the process is the fact that you let them know what fish you want and next thing you know they are sourced and being quarantined, even before you give them any money. WOW.
So I placed 2 orders.
The first order was for 4 fish. The process was smooth and the fish were shipped out roughly 5 weeks later. About 2 weeks before shipping I paid. Once the fish arrived they were acclimated to my system and in they went. If I have something critical to say its that they ship the fish in 1.018-21 water (based on my experience). This is tough with almost all saltwater systems in the 1.025-26 range. Anyways I knew this going in a was able to work with it. The fish were well packed, in a Styrofoam cooler with heat packs and a thermal shield. Good stuff during the winter. Fish arrived from OK to FL - water was about 74 degrees. On of the 4 fish did not ship well and ended up dying. Dr. Reef quickly responded to my email and gave me a credit for my next order with proof of death without question. The other fish were healthy, eating well and doing well.
2nd order was a big one. I ordered 18 fish. Before doing so though I wanted to work out a couple of logistic issues and they were quick to respond to emails and get a details confirmed before placing the order. TOP NOTCH. I was able to place my requests in the notes section and they were able to oblige the requests. About 3 weeks into the order They were able to accommodate a change with a couple fish and now 17 would be shipping out.
About a week before shipping the invoice came and I paid. A day before shipping they sent an email stating one of the angelfish didn't pass final inspection and would not ship. Man I really appreciate this. No one wants to get a fish not in top shape. They sent in the email options for credit since I already paid for the fish. The next day the fish arrived at the hub pickup (I strongly encourage anyone looking to get fish shipped to go to the nearest hub. My previous order was sent to my house and UPS didn't get it here until 3pm. Not a huge deal but I was able to pick up my hub order at 8am). Packaging was phenomenal like the last order. They even placed the heat packs on top of the thermal shield instead of touching the bags directly. Its the small details like this that I really appreciated. I also really like how the seal the bags. Impressive.
I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that 16 fish being shipped I would have at least 1 DOA if not more. I nervously pulled out the bags one by one and sure enough, not 1 death! Again, WOW. Every single fish went into the system and is doing well!
There was 1 mistake though. As I was going through the fish I noticed the warehouse accidently sent me the wrong fish! I emailed Dr. Reef and within 1 hour they started getting to work in finding out what happened. They took a picture of the fish that was supposed to be sent and sent it to me for confirmation. Within a couple more hours I had a tracking number from UPS and the correct fish was on its way. The fish that didn't pass final inspection I mentioned earlier, well Dr. Reef took a look at my Wishlist and was able to send out a fish from the list as a replacement along with the other fish.
Thank you @Dr. Reef
If you are looking to get quarantined fish and looking for a good online vendor, look no further than Dr. Reef. Great company, great communication, highly recommended and I look forward to ordering from them again!!
I read many of reviews both praising and critical of Dr. Reef but figured I would give them a try for my new 600 gallon build (lot of fish to buy).
I originally emailed them with questions and received a response within a couple hours. This has been their typical turnaround time with every correspondence since. For me, communication is critical and is what sets apart average companies from great companies. They have kept me updated every step of the process.
Honestly one of the best parts of the process is the fact that you let them know what fish you want and next thing you know they are sourced and being quarantined, even before you give them any money. WOW.
So I placed 2 orders.
The first order was for 4 fish. The process was smooth and the fish were shipped out roughly 5 weeks later. About 2 weeks before shipping I paid. Once the fish arrived they were acclimated to my system and in they went. If I have something critical to say its that they ship the fish in 1.018-21 water (based on my experience). This is tough with almost all saltwater systems in the 1.025-26 range. Anyways I knew this going in a was able to work with it. The fish were well packed, in a Styrofoam cooler with heat packs and a thermal shield. Good stuff during the winter. Fish arrived from OK to FL - water was about 74 degrees. On of the 4 fish did not ship well and ended up dying. Dr. Reef quickly responded to my email and gave me a credit for my next order with proof of death without question. The other fish were healthy, eating well and doing well.
2nd order was a big one. I ordered 18 fish. Before doing so though I wanted to work out a couple of logistic issues and they were quick to respond to emails and get a details confirmed before placing the order. TOP NOTCH. I was able to place my requests in the notes section and they were able to oblige the requests. About 3 weeks into the order They were able to accommodate a change with a couple fish and now 17 would be shipping out.
About a week before shipping the invoice came and I paid. A day before shipping they sent an email stating one of the angelfish didn't pass final inspection and would not ship. Man I really appreciate this. No one wants to get a fish not in top shape. They sent in the email options for credit since I already paid for the fish. The next day the fish arrived at the hub pickup (I strongly encourage anyone looking to get fish shipped to go to the nearest hub. My previous order was sent to my house and UPS didn't get it here until 3pm. Not a huge deal but I was able to pick up my hub order at 8am). Packaging was phenomenal like the last order. They even placed the heat packs on top of the thermal shield instead of touching the bags directly. Its the small details like this that I really appreciated. I also really like how the seal the bags. Impressive.
I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that 16 fish being shipped I would have at least 1 DOA if not more. I nervously pulled out the bags one by one and sure enough, not 1 death! Again, WOW. Every single fish went into the system and is doing well!
There was 1 mistake though. As I was going through the fish I noticed the warehouse accidently sent me the wrong fish! I emailed Dr. Reef and within 1 hour they started getting to work in finding out what happened. They took a picture of the fish that was supposed to be sent and sent it to me for confirmation. Within a couple more hours I had a tracking number from UPS and the correct fish was on its way. The fish that didn't pass final inspection I mentioned earlier, well Dr. Reef took a look at my Wishlist and was able to send out a fish from the list as a replacement along with the other fish.
Thank you @Dr. Reef
If you are looking to get quarantined fish and looking for a good online vendor, look no further than Dr. Reef. Great company, great communication, highly recommended and I look forward to ordering from them again!!
