Reedsreefs
New Member
About 3 years ago I started having multiple issues with all my local LFS and a few big online marine fish retailers. I experienced fish deaths approaching about 50% mortality rate and on two occasions contracted marine velvet and lost all my livestock causing me to have to start going through the long painful process of laying fallow and starting over each time. After the second time I only had three fish left that were from my original stock. I tried quarantining but got frustrated as I didn't have the knowledge, equipment or patience to be effective.
About 2 years ago I was considering leaving the hobby that I had enjoyed for 45 years because I was so frustrated. I decided to take one more shot and do a complete tear down and restart. When I was trying to learn to do my own quarantining I found the Humblefish website and his recommended vendor list. After my frustrations with doing my own quarantining and treatment I decided that I just needed to find a supplier that would do it for me. I researched the listed suppliers and chose Dr Reef. I contacted Mike and got a ton of valuable information and wisdom from him prompting me to place my first order. Two years and countless orders later Mike has restored my love for this hobby. I not only restarted and stocked my original 90 gal reef, last year I installed a custom 200 gal reef and fully stocked that as well. And now I am designing a second 200 custom which I will exclusively stock from Dr Reef. I can't say enough positive things about him and his business.
So why did I wait for two years to post a review? After the devastating year of getting sick or dead fish and losing all but three of my original crew of fish I was not very trusting. I didn't want to stick my neck out for a supplier until I was certain I could trust them. So after 2 years Mike has treated me so well I feel like I owe him and this is my way of saying thank you.
In two years I have not received a single sick fish out of the 35 or so fish I have purchased from him. Likewise I have ordered hundreds of inverts from him with no issues including, CUC, tube worms, startfish, urchins and shrimp. He has found every special request I have made from mated pairs of Helfrichi Firefish and Mandarin Gobies to an amazing tang gang of 8 that all get along like a family which is saying a lot since it includes a purple and 3 yellow tangs among others. And this year he helped me curate a harem of Evansi and Bimac Anthias. This is hard to do as these are very sensitive fish that don't ship well or eat well. This brings me to Mike's greatest strength, he stands behind his business and his work.
Most of the orders I have placed with Mike have arrived in excellent shape. But over the winters it gets very tricky with bad weather, delays and rough treatment by shippers. We have lost a few fish due to shipping, but in every case Mike replaced the livestock. Even if they were alive but hurt in shipment and died days later after the warranty. I never even had to ask. When I would update him on the status of the fish he always just offered replacements. I can't hold deaths due to the shipper against Mike especially when he makes it good regardless of it not being his fault. In my opinion what makes a supplier great is not having a perfect story book record but rather standing behind their business, their warranty, and going above and beyond for the customer.
Even the frustrating things about Dr Reef are good. If you're impatient to get your livestock you probably should not order in the winter months or order out-of season livestock. Mike will not ship until all are healthy and eating well. This causes delays, he might plan on shipping one week but on the day to ship the fish will not eat so he will not ship. If it is winter and there are anticipated weather issues he won't ship until there is a break in the weather. He even shuts down shipping during the holidays because the Christmas rush causes too many delayed shipments. All of these things kill livestock and he cares about the livestock and doesn't want to needlessly kill these animals. I have to admit that there were times I had a hard time waiting but at the end of the day I had to admit that I would rather wait and get a live healthy fish than get a dead or dying one sooner.
I am sure there are other good suppliers of quarantined fish but I can't vouch for them. After two years I feel that I can vouch for Dr Reef. I hope this helps anyone trying to decide where they should go for quality fish and support.
About 2 years ago I was considering leaving the hobby that I had enjoyed for 45 years because I was so frustrated. I decided to take one more shot and do a complete tear down and restart. When I was trying to learn to do my own quarantining I found the Humblefish website and his recommended vendor list. After my frustrations with doing my own quarantining and treatment I decided that I just needed to find a supplier that would do it for me. I researched the listed suppliers and chose Dr Reef. I contacted Mike and got a ton of valuable information and wisdom from him prompting me to place my first order. Two years and countless orders later Mike has restored my love for this hobby. I not only restarted and stocked my original 90 gal reef, last year I installed a custom 200 gal reef and fully stocked that as well. And now I am designing a second 200 custom which I will exclusively stock from Dr Reef. I can't say enough positive things about him and his business.
So why did I wait for two years to post a review? After the devastating year of getting sick or dead fish and losing all but three of my original crew of fish I was not very trusting. I didn't want to stick my neck out for a supplier until I was certain I could trust them. So after 2 years Mike has treated me so well I feel like I owe him and this is my way of saying thank you.
In two years I have not received a single sick fish out of the 35 or so fish I have purchased from him. Likewise I have ordered hundreds of inverts from him with no issues including, CUC, tube worms, startfish, urchins and shrimp. He has found every special request I have made from mated pairs of Helfrichi Firefish and Mandarin Gobies to an amazing tang gang of 8 that all get along like a family which is saying a lot since it includes a purple and 3 yellow tangs among others. And this year he helped me curate a harem of Evansi and Bimac Anthias. This is hard to do as these are very sensitive fish that don't ship well or eat well. This brings me to Mike's greatest strength, he stands behind his business and his work.
Most of the orders I have placed with Mike have arrived in excellent shape. But over the winters it gets very tricky with bad weather, delays and rough treatment by shippers. We have lost a few fish due to shipping, but in every case Mike replaced the livestock. Even if they were alive but hurt in shipment and died days later after the warranty. I never even had to ask. When I would update him on the status of the fish he always just offered replacements. I can't hold deaths due to the shipper against Mike especially when he makes it good regardless of it not being his fault. In my opinion what makes a supplier great is not having a perfect story book record but rather standing behind their business, their warranty, and going above and beyond for the customer.
Even the frustrating things about Dr Reef are good. If you're impatient to get your livestock you probably should not order in the winter months or order out-of season livestock. Mike will not ship until all are healthy and eating well. This causes delays, he might plan on shipping one week but on the day to ship the fish will not eat so he will not ship. If it is winter and there are anticipated weather issues he won't ship until there is a break in the weather. He even shuts down shipping during the holidays because the Christmas rush causes too many delayed shipments. All of these things kill livestock and he cares about the livestock and doesn't want to needlessly kill these animals. I have to admit that there were times I had a hard time waiting but at the end of the day I had to admit that I would rather wait and get a live healthy fish than get a dead or dying one sooner.
I am sure there are other good suppliers of quarantined fish but I can't vouch for them. After two years I feel that I can vouch for Dr Reef. I hope this helps anyone trying to decide where they should go for quality fish and support.
