th365thli
Active Member
I have ordered fish with two other vendors, and both were "okay" experiences. Some fish arrived in less than stellar condition, and a few with flukes/ich.
I've been feeling burned with online ordering, but I saw that Reef Beauties had a Longnose butterfly and I had to jump at it. I ordered the longnose and a Melanarus wrasse pair.
Right away, I noticed their website was very comprehensive. They were very clear with their policies, acclimation guide, pricing strategy, and guarantee. It was clear transparency is very important to them. This was the first online vendor that actually encouraged communication. They even posted examples of what good communication looked like! I almost never seen a vendor, much less an online fish vendor, do this.
Another thing they do was warn the buyer of low stock. They ask for substitutions in case of low stock, and even allow you to opt for cancelling the order should a fish you ordered actually wasn't available. With asynchronous orders coming in, and the delicate nature of fish, it's easy for low stock items to actually not be available. Major points for Reef Beauties to recognize this and offer customer friendly options.
My order got weather delayed for one day. I was stressing out, and emailed Reef Beauties. They were VERY responsive, answering any questions I had about packing, shipping, and the guarantee. The communication was the best I have done with any vendor. Note they are on the west coast, so east coast folks like myself might see a delayed response in the morning due to the time difference.
The fish arrived a day late. All were alive. So far the butterfly is doing well in my acclimation tank, it ate pretty much 15 minutes after being put in. Same with the wrasses. Dawn at Reef Beauties was very reassuring regarding fish well being and their guarantee policy. The fact that the fish came in a good condition after a long transit and delay is awesome. Especially a picky eater butterfly that was eating in my 10 gallon tank like nothing happened.
The only thing I would note, and this is not necessarily a negative because most vendors do this, is that the fish are shipped in hyposalinity and with a low amount of copper. This is done to suppress disease, but given this fact it's still strongly encouraged to quarantine any fish from any vendor. The only vendor I know of which guarantees disease free is Dr Reef (which I will be reviewing after I receive an order from them).
So in short, kudos to Reef Beauties and their excellent communication and descriptive website. I hope they continue what their doing and ship healthy fish.
I've been feeling burned with online ordering, but I saw that Reef Beauties had a Longnose butterfly and I had to jump at it. I ordered the longnose and a Melanarus wrasse pair.
Right away, I noticed their website was very comprehensive. They were very clear with their policies, acclimation guide, pricing strategy, and guarantee. It was clear transparency is very important to them. This was the first online vendor that actually encouraged communication. They even posted examples of what good communication looked like! I almost never seen a vendor, much less an online fish vendor, do this.
Another thing they do was warn the buyer of low stock. They ask for substitutions in case of low stock, and even allow you to opt for cancelling the order should a fish you ordered actually wasn't available. With asynchronous orders coming in, and the delicate nature of fish, it's easy for low stock items to actually not be available. Major points for Reef Beauties to recognize this and offer customer friendly options.
My order got weather delayed for one day. I was stressing out, and emailed Reef Beauties. They were VERY responsive, answering any questions I had about packing, shipping, and the guarantee. The communication was the best I have done with any vendor. Note they are on the west coast, so east coast folks like myself might see a delayed response in the morning due to the time difference.
The fish arrived a day late. All were alive. So far the butterfly is doing well in my acclimation tank, it ate pretty much 15 minutes after being put in. Same with the wrasses. Dawn at Reef Beauties was very reassuring regarding fish well being and their guarantee policy. The fact that the fish came in a good condition after a long transit and delay is awesome. Especially a picky eater butterfly that was eating in my 10 gallon tank like nothing happened.
The only thing I would note, and this is not necessarily a negative because most vendors do this, is that the fish are shipped in hyposalinity and with a low amount of copper. This is done to suppress disease, but given this fact it's still strongly encouraged to quarantine any fish from any vendor. The only vendor I know of which guarantees disease free is Dr Reef (which I will be reviewing after I receive an order from them).
So in short, kudos to Reef Beauties and their excellent communication and descriptive website. I hope they continue what their doing and ship healthy fish.
