Thoughts on Dr. Reef

[SpyC]

Those are all your personal experiences. Not everyone agrees to that as you can read through this thread.
We have praises after praises on our shipping and customer service. As you stated you wont be buying anymore so there is nothing further to discuss> Happy reefing.

Positive experiences don't mean the negatives don't have merit and treating it as such.

 

[SpyC]

For the ones wondering about our shipping and bagging here is a review from today.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dr-reefs-quarantined-fish.1108602/
Futher more goto this section of r2r and read each and every review about Dr Reef and be your own judge.
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/vendor-feedback.18/

My last fish arrived last week. this is not the experience I had with the bagging.

Even though I will not be buying from again, you could have taken the opportunity to gather more information and possibly use that to modify QC when it comes to bagging fish or The overall experience. instead you opted to say my experiences do not hold any merit because others had good experiences.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

This is a known common fact throughout the world, NO business can make EVERYONE happy. You are doing good If we can make most people happy, We are here for them. Others that are not happy will take their business somewhere else. This will happen even if the business bent over backwards for them.
We ship every order the same way for every customer and we get a million praises. Unfortunately cant change our procedure and bags that the whole world uses for 1 or few handful of people sepcially when the saying goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

 

[Genvid]

I have had several purchases from dr reef. Everything always arrived fine, once UPS delayed delivery for 3 days. The driver did not want to answer calls and left the box for 3 days in tragedy. You will not believe, when I received and opened the box all the fish were alive. I have had them in my aquarium for almost a year. You are probably just unlucky.

 

[mfinn]

So far my experiences with Dr Reef have been good.
Waiting on my second order.
The hardest part IMO is just waiting for the quarantine to be over so the fish can be shipped.

 

[SpyC]

I have had several purchases from dr reef. Everything always arrived fine, once UPS delayed delivery for 3 days. The driver did not want to answer calls and left the box for 3 days in tragedy. You will not believe, when I received and opened the box all the fish were alive. I have had them in my aquarium for almost a year. You are probably just unlucky.

I had a delay with the 2nd shipment of my order and Dr Reef said he would reach out to his contact which is really great. Then I never heard back from him with how the conversation went.

 

[SpyC]

This is a known common fact throughout the world, NO business can make EVERYONE happy. You are doing good If we can make most people happy, We are here for them. Others that are not happy will take their business somewhere else. This will happen even if the business bent over backwards for them.
We ship every order the same way for every customer and we get a million praises. Unfortunately cant change our procedure and bags that the whole world uses for 1 or few handful of people sepcially when the saying goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

My issue with the bagging is that you stated you changed the way it is done, but yet it matched my first order from 2022. This means either there was no change or an order slipped through the cracks and was not bagged to your new standards.

 

[LiquidSpace]

So far my experiences with Dr Reef have been good.
Waiting on my second order.
The hardest part IMO is just waiting for the quarantine to be over so the fish can be shipped.

Yes! I’m on week 3 and eagerly waiting.

 

[Wildreefs]

Check out tsmaquatics.com, I've gotten all of my fish from them, and all are healthy and thriving. They quarantine for 30 days and can order in what you want.

Yea ok

 

[EliMelly]

My issue with the bagging is that you stated you changed the way it is done, but yet it matched my first order from 2022. This means either there was no change or an order slipped through the cracks and was not bagged to your new standards.

Seems like you had a very one off experience. I’m sure Dr Reef made it right in the end and you didn’t lose money.

 

[SpyC]

Seems like you had a very one off experience. I’m sure Dr Reef made it right in the end and you didn’t lose money.

I had the same issues with three different orders and some had multiple shipments. this was not a one off imo. due to fish loss from being sent multiple fish when stating not to send them, I did lose money.

 

[MnFish1]

This is one of the reasons for the vendor forum - I wonder if some of the posts should be moved elsewhere over there? @Daniel@R2R

 

[EliMelly]

I had the same issues with three different orders and some had multiple shipments. this was not a one off imo. due to fish loss from being sent multiple fish when stating not to send them, I did lose money.

I sure would like to hear the other side. This is a vendor who has bent over backwards to help me in every aspect. I think it’s more likely you are just looking to complain potentially. I would love to hear from Dr reef.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

Seems like you had a very one off experience. I’m sure Dr Reef made it right in the end and you didn’t lose money.

Eli thank you for your kind remarks. Problem is that people assume things. For some reason a person assumes that the whole world should change the bags this industry has been using for dacades. He thinks those bags are no good while entire world uses them with no issues. So it doesnt take a rocket scientist to realize where the problem is. Another thing is assuming we changed our bags. Yes i did mention on a forum that we have a new supplier and newer design of bags but he failed to read past his tunnel vision, I also mentioned right after that statement that we currently have about 1.5 yrs worth of old bags that needs to be rid of first before new bags come into play.

He will also never mention what he ordered from us. Lets break it down.

Nov 16 2022 He placed his first order.
Royal Gramma, tailspot blenny, Gladiator Clown, Black ice clown, citron goby, yellow tang, emerald crab, cleaner shrimp, exq firefish.

Mind you these were covid days and hawaii ban, yellow tangs were only coming from biota and were tiny weak transparent 1" fish. It was doa, along with royal gramma. We issued a refund for those 2 doa.
He claims all his fish comes in dead because bags are deflated, thats only 2 fish and 1 not on us (we dont breed yellow tangs).
If his statement was true then out of 9 livestock items only 2 were refunded/doa. His math doesnt add up.

Dec 23 2023
5 bangaii, Frostbite clown, firefish purple, yellow tang, lubbock wrasse, Davinci clown
No doas reported. Again his math does add up to his statements.

Dec 9 2024
Yellow coris, adorned wrasse, barnicle blenny, diamond goby
Adorned wrasse was not shipped, we held it back due to quality issue. He ordered 1 yellow coris, we shipped 2 as we know through experience they dont ship well. and to our experience they were doa. We replaced them.

Jan 29 2025 (He didnt place this order it was replacement)
missing adorned wrasse was shipped. On our expense, no doa reported. His math doesnt add up again

Mar 5 2025 (He didnt place this order we shipped his doa replacement)
we only owed him 1 yellow corris we shipped him 2.no email or claim of doa. Shipped at our expense.

So as you can see we shipped him 5 times with a total of 27 fish and only 3 fish have been reported doa.For which either a refund was issued or replacement were sent. Again his statements or the math dont add up.

27 fish 3 doa

People assume things and get stuck in their mentality that they cant see past that and or take statements out of context.

This person has a personal vendetta against us. We have all emails and records of refund or replacements. If needed we will not hesitate to post and make this very much public.

 

[EliMelly]

Eli thank you for your kind remarks. Problem is that people assume things. For some reason a person assumes that the whole world should change the bags this industry has been using for dacades. He thinks those bags are no good while entire world uses them with no issues. So it doesnt take a rocket scientist to realize where the problem is. Another thing is assuming we changed our bags. Yes i did mention on a forum that we have a new supplier and newer design of bags but he failed to read past his tunnel vision, I also mentioned right after that statement that we currently have about 1.5 yrs worth of old bags that needs to be rid of first before new bags come into play.

He will also never mention what he ordered from us. Lets break it down.

Nov 16 2022 He placed his first order.
Royal Gramma, tailspot blenny, Gladiator Clown, Black ice clown, citron goby, yellow tang, emerald crab, cleaner shrimp, exq firefish.

Mind you these were covid days and hawaii ban, yellow tangs were only coming from biota and were tiny weak transparent 1" fish. It was doa, along with royal gramma. We issued a refund for those 2 doa.
He claims all his fish comes in dead because bags are deflated, thats only 2 fish and 1 not on us (we dont breed yellow tangs).
If his statement was true then out of 9 livestock items only 2 were refunded/doa. His math doesnt add up.

Dec 23 2023
5 bangaii, Frostbite clown, firefish purple, yellow tang, lubbock wrasse, Davinci clown
No doas reported. Again his math does add up to his statements.

Dec 9 2024
Yellow coris, adorned wrasse, barnicle blenny, diamond goby
Adorned wrasse was not shipped, we held it back due to quality issue. He ordered 1 yellow coris, we shipped 2 as we know through experience they dont ship well. and to our experience they were doa. We replaced them.

Jan 29 2025 (He didnt place this order it was replacement)
missing adorned wrasse was shipped. On our expense, no doa reported. His math doesnt add up again

Mar 5 2025 (He didnt place this order we shipped his doa replacement)
we only owed him 1 yellow corris we shipped him 2.no email or claim of doa. Shipped at our expense.

So as you can see we shipped him 5 times with a total of 27 fish and only 3 fish have been reported doa.For which either a refund was issued or replacement were sent. Again his statements or the math dont add up.

27 fish 3 doa

People assume things and get stuck in their mentality that they cant see past that and or take statements out of context.

This person has a personal vendetta against us. We have all emails and records of refund or replacements. If needed we will not hesitate to post and make this very much public.

Listen Mike, you’ve been more than generous with me from QT my own fish for free that I am aware of your customer service. This is when I added a fish that was non QT so not even on you.

The only other vendor that comes even close to your service is Battlecorals. There’s a reason the two of you have the best reputation.

 

[LiquidSpace]

Here’s my newest Dr. Reef fish. It’s great, although slow to eat, which seems to be common with these guys. I have three tangs on order right now which I have been building up to for a bout a year, so I’m very excited.

 

[lanerjo]

I was wondering how the QT fish were from Dr. Reef. I'm trying to get a Midas Blenny and Royal Gramma, I just want to make sure the general consensus is that they're healthy fish upon arrival. I know he only does 2 weeks of QT and that has me skeptical.

I am writing this to share a devastating, costly, and incredibly frustrating experience with Dr. Reef’s Quarantined Fish. I paid a premium to use a pre-quarantine vendor specifically to protect my mature reef system. Instead, their failed protocol introduced Marine Velvet into my tank, resulting in massive livestock losses and forcing me into a 76-day fallow period.
The Baseline: A Closed System
My main display tank has been a strictly closed system with absolutely zero new fish, coral, or invertebrate additions for over a year. Dr. Reef’s shipment was the only live vector introduced to my tank in over 12 months.
The "Squeaky Wheel" Fulfillment Gaps
From the start, the fulfillment process lacked the discipline you would expect from a strict quarantine facility. My orders only seemed to move when I manually emailed them to complain about massive communication gaps.

• April 2nd: Placed the initial order for five fish. After weeks of silence, I emailed for an update. Only then was I told the order was ready, but that the initial Powder Brown Tang had died in their care. The remaining fish shipped, and the Blue Spot Puffer died 2–3 days after arrival.
• May 6th: They agreed to ship a replacement Powder Brown and Blue Spot Puffer. Another massive communication gap followed.
• Late June: I emailed again to demand a status update. Miraculously, the replacement order was immediately cleared to ship the following week.

This pattern strongly indicates that instead of adhering to strict, uninterrupted quarantine windows, they rushed fish into bags and out the door simply to appease an inquiring customer.
The Timeline & The Outbreak

• July 2nd: The replacements arrived late via UPS under heavy stress.
• July 2nd – July 16th: I conducted a strict 14-day observation period in an isolated tank. The fish showed no external symptoms.
• July 16th: Believing the vendor's quarantine and my observation were enough, the fish were introduced to the display.
• Mid-August: A massive, catastrophic Marine Velvet outbreak erupted in my display tank.

The Damage and Outbreak Dynamics
Because Marine Velvet is a gills-first parasite, a low-level, copper-suppressed infection can easily remain completely invisible internally during a standard 14-day visual observation window. Once introduced to my display, it took a few reproductive generations (about 30 days) to build a critical mass and explode onto the bodies of the fish.
As a direct result of this protocol failure, I have lost:

• Lamarck's Angel (Established resident)
• Hippo Tang (Established resident)
• Powder Brown Tang (The replacement fish)

Beyond the immediate death of these fish, my system is broken. I am now forced to tear down my display tank to run it fallow for 76 days, while setting up and maintaining a secondary hospital tank to keep any remaining survivors alive with active copper treatment.
The Vendor's Response
When confronted with this exact timeline, Dr. Reef completely deflected. They claimed that since I didn't see anything during my 14-day observation, it couldn't have come from them. They relied on the outdated myth that velvet always wipes a tank out in "two weeks," completely ignoring peer-reviewed science on copper suppression and low-level gill infections. They outright refused to honor their service or their shipping insurance, stating they aren't responsible after two months (counting from the ship date to today, rather than the mid-August outbreak date).
Conclusion
Do not let your guard down with this vendor. Paying a premium for their "quarantine" service does not guarantee clean fish. If you buy from them, you absolutely must treat them as wild, unquarantined fish and run your own full, prophylactic medication protocol. Their rushed fulfillment and total lack of accountability have devastated a mature, beautiful ecosystem I spent over a year protecting.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I am sorry to hear about your struggles, but using an LLM to generate a complaint that fills in the gaps and connects questionable dots for you is not doing your argument, or the reality of what happened, any favors.

I think there are certainly fair questions to ask Dr. Reef, but several of the “facts” presented here appear to be AI-generated assumptions used to make a stronger case, especially regarding what Dr. Reef did or did not do during quarantine, the actual disease lifecycle. The the LLM compressed a much messier reality into a tidy conclusion that provides authority, and does so by connecting dubious dots and assumptions.

It is certainly possible that the fish were the vector and that the disease slipped past both their reasonable quarantine protocol and your reasonable observation period. Neither is infallible, and infections can slip through even when both are properly performed.

I can't speak for Dr. Reef, and I do understand your frustration, but sticking to the known facts without filling in the gaps with assumptions serves everyone involved, including those reading along, much better.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

Losing established livestock to a parasitic outbreak is one of the most painful experiences in this hobby, and we genuinely understand the frustration and heartbreak that comes with resetting a display tank. However, because this post makes direct allegations regarding our integrity, protocol adherence, and biological science, we need to address these claims with the hard timeline and scientific facts.

1. The Timeline Proves Fish Were Not "Rushed"
The claim that replacements were hastily thrown into a bag to appease an email is directly refuted by the calendar:
April 2nd: 1 and only order placed.
May 6th: Order shipped.
July 2nd: Replacement order delivered.
That is an 8-week window (57 days). If our goal were simply to rush fish out the door to silence an inquiry, they would have shipped in May. Instead, the replacement fish underwent our complete, uninterrupted multi-week therapeutic regimen and observation phase before being cleared for transit. Checking an order’s status against a scheduled batch release is standard operating procedure, not protocol circumvention.

2. The Biology of Marine Velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum)
The post argues that a copper-suppressed Velvet infection remained sub-clinical through our facility, through your 14-day observation, and took another 30 days in your display to manifest. The biology of Amyloodinium contradicts this:
Life Cycle Dynamics: Marine Velvet completes its life cycle in 3 to 6 days at reef temperatures. Its reproductive rate is exponential, producing up to 256 dinospores per tomont.

The Observation Window: When fish leave therapeutic copper and enter a clean, unmedicated observation tank (as they did from July 2nd to July 16th), any suppressed trophonts release from the gills, encyst, and reinfect the host within 48 to 72 hours. An unmedicated 14-day observation window is specifically designed to break therapeutic suppression; an active Velvet strain will overwhelm fish and cause severe respiratory distress well before day 14.

The Display Delay: For a display tank with susceptible species (including a Powder Brown Tang and a Lamarck's Angel) to show zero symptoms for nearly a full month after introduction, only to erupt in mid-August (45+ days post-delivery), defies the established reproductive timeline of Velvet.

3. Pathogen Diagnosis & Fallow Protocol
The post notes a 76-day fallow period.
76 days is the standard protocol for Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans), based on the longest known dormant tomont lifecycle.
Marine Velvet (Amyloodinium) requires a 42-day (6-week) fallow period at 80.6°F (27°C).
Conflating these two distinct parasites highlights how difficult display tank pathology can be without microscopic gill scrapes. In established systems, dormant encysted stages of various pathogens can persist unnoticed on rubble, shells, or in low-flow areas until a biological trigger occurs.

4. Warranty & Long-Term Liability
Our warranty policy covers transit, arrival, and initial acclimation. Expecting any vendor to absorb liability for an outbreak that occurred 6 to 7 weeks after delivery—after the livestock spent two weeks in a customer observation tank and another month in a shared reef display—is neither reasonable nor standard in the aquaculture industry. Once livestock enters an external system, external environmental variables, aerosol cross-contamination, frozen/live food vectors, and existing tank flora are outside our control.

We stand by the strict biosecurity protocols, therapeutic dosing levels, and observation standards we run on every batch. While we deeply regret the loss of your display livestock, attributing a mid-August collapse to a shipment that arrived on July 2nd is biologically unsupported.