Has anyone ever gotten ich or velvet from dr reef qt fish?

[ILikeFish!]

I saw on dr reef’s website they qt at under 2.25 ppt of copper for only 14 days, so does that mean ich and velvet and get through qt?

 

[smitten with ocean life]

never had a problem from him

 

[Tamberav]

I saw on dr reef’s website they qt at under 2.25 ppt of copper for only 14 days, so does that mean ich and velvet and get through qt?

He transfers them after so it is a low chance.

You can do 14 if you move to a new tank and bring nothing with.

There is still a chance something could get thorough.

My only concern is I have no idea how he manages CP (chloroquine phosphate) or which fish get CP but bacteria will break down CP and make it useless after awhile so I am a bit nervous about it as I don't know if he resets those tanks every time or not. You can't just easily test the levels of CP like copper. I suppose a person could just ask him.

Regardless, I just put his fish in an observation tank for 2-4 weeks then move them to my DT. I have never seen disease.

Some people have reported disease from him but we can't know if they are honest or if they added snails or coral or some other "wet" thing that brought it in so I take it all with a grain of salt.

He seems nice and is very responsive to emails. I like working with him.

The fish come in at 1.018 salinity and I wish they were 1.026 but I that is nit picking.

There are other QT venders as well like TSM and FisHotel and Ocean Devotion.

 

[ILikeFish!]

He transfers them after so it is a low chance.

You can do 14 if you move to a new tank and bring nothing with.

There is still a chance something could get thorough.

My only concern is I have no idea how he manages CP (chloroquine phosphate) or which fish get CP but bacteria will break down CP and make it useless after awhile so I am a bit nervous about it as I don't know if he resets those tanks every time or not. You can't just easily test the levels of CP like copper. I suppose a person could just ask him.

Regardless, I just put his fish in an observation tank for 2-4 weeks then move them to my DT. I have never seen disease.

Some people have reported disease from him but we can't know if they are honest or if they added snails or coral or some other "wet" thing that brought it in so I take it all with a grain of salt.

He seems nice and is very responsive to emails. I like working with him.

The fish come in at 1.018 salinity and I wish they were 1.026 but I that is nit picking.

There are other QT venders as well like TSM and FisHotel and Ocean Devotion.

Thanks for the response. What do you mean by he transfers them over after? Also what about the low copper levels?

what is chloroquine phosphate?

Would quarantining your own fish be more effective than getting some from dr reef?

 

[Tamberav]

Thanks for the response. What do you mean by he transfers them over after? Also what about the low copper levels?

what is chloroquine phosphate?

Would quarantining your own fish be more effective than getting some from dr reef?

He transfers them to different systems and out of copper... basically transferring them away from the cyst stage of the disease. This is why it is 14 and not 30.

Chloroquine phosphate is another drug used to treat disease.

That depends how good and confident you are with QT Obviously if you do it yourself you can opt for 30 days and observe for as long as you want after before hitting the DT but QT has its own challenges.

If you are not properly confident with identifying disease and treating and maintaining water quality in a QT setting, I think using a QT vender is a good alternative.

 

[braaap]

I've never had an issue with his fish disease wise. I have had plenty that came dead. I think that part is just the nature of shipping fish. His customer service is outstanding and I continue to spend money with them and will continue to spend money with them and only them when it comes to fish.

 

[MarsReefer]

I've done 5 orders through him. Never seen any disease. Lost a few fish in shipping, always gave me credit right away with no issue. Nothing but positive experiences for me.

 

[rtparty]

20+ fish from him and not a single sign of disease and I only buy them conditioned, not fully QTd

 

[fishywishy]

I think the reason he only does it for 14 days is because he uses ionic copper which only needs 14 days to work but I could be wrong @Jay Hemdal

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I think the reason he only does it for 14 days is because he uses ionic copper which only needs 14 days to work but I could be wrong @Jay Hemdal

If he uses 2.25 ppm copper as the OP said, then he is using amine-chelated copper. I think 14 days is too short for that, but really, all quarantine processes are a balance of cost (time) versus efficacy. I know the process that I recommend takes a lot more time, but IMO it’s worth it for the end user. For intermediate users in the supply chain, it takes too long.
If he takes the fish out of full copper and moves them to a fresh tank, then 14 days stands a better chance of working because any tomonts get left behind (essentially a partial TTM combined with copper).

 

[djkms]

40+ fish, multiple orders no disease. I did lose fish during shipping but great communication and they credited the losses.

 

[ILikeFish!]

If he uses 2.25 ppm copper as the OP said, then he is using amine-chelated copper. I think 14 days is too short for that, but really, all quarantine processes are a balance of cost (time) versus efficacy. I know the process that I recommend takes a lot more time, but IMO it’s worth it for the end user. For intermediate users in the supply chain, it takes too long.
If he takes the fish out of full copper and moves them to a fresh tank, then 14 days stands a better chance of working because any tomonts get left behind (essentially a partial TTM combined with copper).

Actually on the website he says he does 1.75-2.25 ppm of copper. Is that bad? The reason im so worried is because i want buy from dr reef an again because it was so convenient, but my last shipment all came with flukes, so im scared to buy from him again and have to deal with ich or velvet this time.

He transfers them after so it is a low chance.

You can do 14 if you move to a new tank and bring nothing with.

There is still a chance something could get thorough.

My only concern is I have no idea how he manages CP (chloroquine phosphate) or which fish get CP but bacteria will break down CP and make it useless after awhile so I am a bit nervous about it as I don't know if he resets those tanks every time or not. You can't just easily test the levels of CP like copper. I suppose a person could just ask him.

Regardless, I just put his fish in an observation tank for 2-4 weeks then move them to my DT. I have never seen disease.

Some people have reported disease from him but we can't know if they are honest or if they added snails or coral or some other "wet" thing that brought it in so I take it all with a grain of salt.

He seems nice and is very responsive to emails. I like working with him.

The fish come in at 1.018 salinity and I wish they were 1.026 but I that is nit picking.

There are other QT venders as well like TSM and FisHotel and Ocean Devotion.

Does tsm and fish hotel qt fish better than dr reef?

 

[Tamberav]

Actually on the website he says he does 1.75-2.25 ppm of copper. Is that bad? The reason im so worried is because i want buy from dr reef an again because it was so convenient, but my last shipment all came with flukes, so im scared to buy from him again and have to deal with ich or velvet this time.

Does tsm and fish hotel qt fish better than dr reef?

Fishotel is my favorite, never had a DOA from him and he watches them out of medication before shipping so they don't just come out of the med soup.

and it is one guy doing it all so no employees to mess it all up! He is so nice and genuine too

The only downside is less selection and you have to be fast to buy up the fish when they release. He does take custom orders on humble fishes website from lists of fish we vote on.

Fishotel does 21 days of copper then moves to clean tanks, His levels are 2.35-2.50. So if you are looking for more aggressive QT, check him out!

If you got flukes once, I would do observation then before going to the DT. I have seen people complain about flukes before but lots of people also don't have issues.

If you don't get the eggs perfectly or if the medication breaks down (bacteria can break down prazipro), then flukes can get by. So its totally possible.

I have not used TSM in a long time so I can't comment on how good they are currently. I basically go to Fishotel first and then Dr Reef for any fish I can't get at the hotel.

 

[djkms]

Actually on the website he says he does 1.75-2.25 ppm of copper. Is that bad? The reason im so worried is because i want buy from dr reef an again because it was so convenient, but my last shipment all came with flukes, so im scared to buy from him again and have to deal with ich or velvet this time.

Does tsm and fish hotel qt fish better than dr reef?

No quarantine service can ever guarantee you will not get fish with disease. The only way to be sure is to quarantine them yourself with a strict protocol. That being said @Dr. Reef is one of the best in the business. They have literally shipped thousands of fish over the years with minimal issue. I do remember him actually addressing the issue of ich in another thread and with the thousands of shipments he is only aware of one issue of ich leaving on a fish in his system and if memory serves its not even 100% confirmed it came from him (maybe another fish already in the system or a frag not quarantined, etc).

I currently have a 600 gallon tank and all my fish (but a couple from my previously broke down system) came from him. I am probably close to $10,000 in fish ordered from them and currently have about $1500 worth being quarantined as we speak. No disease issues at all.

As far as the flukes on your order, I do know flukes suck but they are easily treatable even in a reef (Prazipro). I would say there is a 99% chance your fish will come in disease free but there will always be the chance something is introduced with anything going into your system, inlcluding corals, frags, snails, rock, etc.

 

[LPS Bum]

I’ve never seen any diseased fish come in from him, but I have had a few problems with his orders. Wrong fish sent. Multiple fish of the same species sent (when only 1 was ordered) and a few fish came in very thin and died within a couple of days. Some good shipments too though.

He’s always been very accommodating, and despite a few hiccups I think he does a pretty good job. I’ve had better success with Divers Den fish though.

 

[djkms]

I’ve never seen any diseased fish come in from him, but I have had a few problems with his orders. Wrong fish sent. Multiple fish of the same species sent (when only 1 was ordered) and a few fish came in very thin and died within a couple of days. Some good shipments too though.

He’s always been very accommodating, and despite a few hiccups I think he does a pretty good job. I’ve had better success with Divers Den fish though.

The reason you get multiple fish of the same species is because he sends multiple on fish that are known to not ship well. This is on purpose. Never have I had him charge me for the extras.

 

[LPS Bum]

The reason you get multiple fish of the same species is because he sends multiple on fish that are known to not ship well. This is on purpose. Never have I had him charge me for the extras.

Interesting. I was never told that. I also wasn’t charged for the second fish, but I question that approach. Multiples of the same fish in the same tank don’t always get along or you may not have room for both, so I’m not sure that’s the best approach.

Regardless, they should tell the customer ahead of time so that he or she can let them know if they want the second fish. I still think he does a good job and would recommend him. Just don’t agree with that approach.

 

[ILikeFish!]

No quarantine service can ever guarantee you will not get fish with disease. The only way to be sure is to quarantine them yourself with a strict protocol. That being said @Dr. Reef is one of the best in the business. They have literally shipped thousands of fish over the years with minimal issue. I do remember him actually addressing the issue of ich in another thread and with the thousands of shipments he is only aware of one issue of ich leaving on a fish in his system and if memory serves its not even 100% confirmed it came from him (maybe another fish already in the system or a frag not quarantined, etc).

I currently have a 600 gallon tank and all my fish (but a couple from my previously broke down system) came from him. I am probably close to $10,000 in fish ordered from them and currently have about $1500 worth being quarantined as we speak. No disease issues at all.

As far as the flukes on your order, I do know flukes suck but they are easily treatable even in a reef (Prazipro). I would say there is a 99% chance your fish will come in disease free but there will always be the chance something is introduced with anything going into your system, inlcluding corals, frags, snails, rock, etc.

Thanks for the reply. I understand.

Actually, i guess the way the flukes were able to get through is because the were a particularly tuff strain or something and the 2 weeks of praziquantel didn’t work, so i had to do a hyposalinty instead and ended up losing half of my fish in the process. So definitely not the easiest to treat.

 

[djkms]

Interesting. I was never told that. I also wasn’t charged for the second fish, but I question that approach. Multiples of the same fish in the same tank don’t always get along or you may not have room for both, so I’m not sure that’s the best approach.

Regardless, they should tell the customer ahead of time so that he or she can let them know if they want the second fish. I still think he does a good job and would recommend him. Just don’t agree with that approach.

Yeah I hear you. At the end of the day though they are a business and its probably more cost effective to send you an extra fish then it would be to ship out another one overnight to replace a death as shipping alone can be at least $50-$100

Maybe they will send me an extra Achilles Tang on this order (a man can dream right?).

 

[ILikeFish!]

Fishotel is my favorite, never had a DOA from him and he watches them out of medication before shipping so they don't just come out of the med soup.

and it is one guy doing it all so no employees to mess it all up! He is so nice and genuine too

The only downside is less selection and you have to be fast to buy up the fish when they release. He does take custom orders on humble fishes website from lists of fish we vote on.

Fishotel does 21 days of copper then moves to clean tanks, His levels are 2.35-2.50. So if you are looking for more aggressive QT, check him out!

If you got flukes once, I would do observation then before going to the DT. I have seen people complain about flukes before but lots of people also don't have issues.

If you don't get the eggs perfectly or if the medication breaks down (bacteria can break down prazipro), then flukes can get by. So its totally possible.

I have not used TSM in a long time so I can't comment on how good they are currently. I basically go to Fishotel first and then Dr Reef for any fish I can't get at the hotel.

So you cant make a custom order? you have to go vote on a fish and hope you get one when they’re released? Is fish hotel fish more expensive than dr reef?