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The 600 gallon tank at Rivers to Reef as of July 2013 600 gallon tank as of October 2012. Look how tiny the Cichlids used to be! An older picture of the 600 gallon tank, there are no longer New World Cichlids in the 600 gallon tank. Clown fish lounging in an anemone

Location
417 Mace Blvd , Suite S
Hours
Monday to Saturday 12pm - 7pm
Phone
(530) 759-1045
Email
[email protected]
Website
http://www.riverstoreef.com
https://www.facebook.com/RiversToReef
Owner
James Krause
Established
September 2012
Payment Methods
Cash, Debit, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express

Rivers to Reef is an aquarium store (local fish store) in El Macero Shopping Center.  It was originally located in Downtown Davis, but moved to South Davis in Summer 2017. They carry a wide range of freshwater fish (tetras, bettas, rasbora, new and old world cichlids, etc.), shrimp and plants. They also carry saltwater fish and invertebrates, live rock, and corals. Also available is a large selection of fish food, filters, pumps, and any other goodies you might need for your fish. With over 100 tanks of fish, Rivers to Reef should have any fish you might desire, but if for whatever reason they do not, you can speak to an associate for a special order at no additional cost.

Most (with the exception of some of the most rare/exotic species) fish, plants, and invertebrates are hand selected at the wholesale distributors by the owner. James takes pride is selecting plants and animals that are in the healthiest of conditions (Daubert can Vouch. I walked around the store while I was killing time and it's %99.998 healthy - not an easy task). Sometimes special orders can take a little while because he will never bring back organisms that are sick just to fill an order.

They also sell reverse osmosis (RO) water for $0.50/gallon and saltwater (made with RO water) for $1.00/gallon. Reverse osmosis water is purified water that is ideal for using in fish tanks. Tap water has chlorine or chloramine that will kill fish. In order to make tap water safe for fish a water conditioner must be used, however tap water still can contain high levels of calcium and other impurities that can harm fish.

Frozen foods, such as bloodworms, brine shrimp, beefheart, are sold in their freezer and live blackworms are sold in their refrigerator. If you are looking for another treat for your fish they also have live daphnia for sale.

Inside the store, they also have a 600 gallon freshwater tank filled with almost 200 African Cichlids. They breed like mad and often yield over 1,000 fry a month! Also on display is a planted tank with a breeding colony of Amano Shrimp and Cherry Shrimp (along with some fish friends).

James opened the store October 19, 2012. Prior to the opening he was extremely passionate about his love of fish and his intent to open a store like this in Davis. Locally owned, locally run and with local passion: one heck of a combo. Here is an article about the store, its philosophies, and its owners (12/17/13 Davis Enterprise).

As of 3/22/2014 they have Davis' first (?) and only coral frag table up and running. Bottom Right: Some of the corals in the table.

Comments:

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2012-09-10 12:42:06   Finally. A dedicated Aquarium shop in Davis... too bad I moved out of Davis. Will this store carry any pond equipment? —tyang

  • We will be carrying some pond equipment, but I am not too sure as of yet how large the selection will be. We will definitely have a pond section though, that I can guarantee. jameskrause

do you think R2R will culture the more modern freshwater favorites like Congo Tetras, Roseline Sharks, Neon Dwarf Rainbows, Glass Cats, Pearl Danios, Rummy-nosed Tetras, Discus in a selection of ages, and possibly some African cichlids? Full sized fresh-water plants in the genus Aponogeton would also be welcome Daubert

  • We will definitely carry all of the fish that you mentioned. I would love to culture the fish, but space is a limiting factor. My original plans for the store had a nursery area where people could look in and see the fish breeding and growing up, but we had to nix that because of space. We will definitely promote local fish breeders by taking fish and giving credit (or trade). I know that we have the ability to get in various Aponogeton, but I'd need more specifics as the genus is decent size, to know if we can get in any specific types. JamesKrause

These are long-lived bulbs; they prefer cooler water. They grow sword leaves a foot long when they are happy. There are many types, e.g, Aponogeton crispus ruffled leaf A. longiplumulosus narrow ruffled leaf A. ulvaceus fluted leaf A. fenestralis lace leaf Daubert

A. crispus, A. ulvaces, A. boivinianus, and A. fenestralis have all appeared on our availability. These lists can change, but if they have appeared once, the likelihood that we can get them in is pretty high. jameskrause

2012-10-11 17:28:52   Any word on opening date? I getting antsy to buy some bottom dwelling community fish... —MikeyCrews

We hope to open sometime next week. We were hoping the 17th of this month, but some of our shipments have been delayed, but we are going to press as hard as we can to stick to that date! We look forward to seeing you down here. -James

2012-10-11 18:37:56   Will you be carrying live rock/sand? I'm happy we're getting an aquarium shop in town. I need to set up my saltwater tank and it will be nice to not have to leave town to get supplies. —EmmyMelton

Yes, we will definitely be carrying live rock and sand. Our saltwater room is coming together more slowly than our freshwater rooms (that's the nature of the saltwater beast), but we should have all of our saltwater up and running about 3 weeks after our freshwater. -James

2012-10-31 14:07:03   Will you guys have CPOs (dwarf orange crayfish) in stock? I've been having a hard time finding them. I'd like to get a little lady for my dwarf dude. —ElaineJeu

-Thanks for stopping by yesterday Elaine. I will keep an eye out for the CPOs and ask around. -James

2012-11-05 11:46:54   Thank you thank you so much! This store is so awesome! I love my new little angelfish guy I got here. I also love those blueberry shrimp as well. I have never seen them before. I will have to come back to get some more shrimp and I'll be keeping a close eye on new stock. :) —ElaineJeu

2012-11-06 00:10:50   So excited to watch Davis' first successful fish hobbyist establishment develop and grow! —gurglemeow

I heartily endorse this store Daubert Sr.

2012-11-19 17:15:53   They have a better freshwater fish selection than petco or pet extreme with an exceptionally impressive cichlid lineup. We got some pretty neat fish today that I hadn't seen anywhere else. Owner is very knowledgeable and friendly. —MikeyCrews

2012-12-08 17:10:36   I was pleased to discover an aquarium store in Davis. I've been long since tired of going to Sacramento or Roseville for quality aquarium products. They are obviously still getting set up and the saltwater organism variety is still low but that's normal given it takes a long time to cycle saltwater. They have RO/DI water for sale and a LARGE quantity of freshwater plants and fish available. Their selection of non-organism products is small, especially for saltwater, but as the customer base increases I'd imagine that would increase too. Do note, though, that all the essentials are there. The staff are very polite and helpful and more than happy to order any items you'd like. —GAvila

-Thank you for your kind words. We are working diligently, as you suspected, on getting new dry goods every week. If there is ever something that we do not have, that you need, just let us know and we will get it in for you ASAP. Also, if you have favorite products that you routinely purchase, and we do not carry them, let us know so we can get it in sooner, rather than later. If you love the product, chances are there are many that do. -James

2013-01-13 18:01:12   I visited this store this weekend and fell in love. I purchased a Ranchu goldfish that I had been hunting for for a long time. It is doing wonderfully and all of the fish at this store seemed happy and healthy. I can;t say the same for the chain stores that I often see infested with Ich. I will definitely be visiting this place again! —EvanPellerin

  • We appreciate your business! We do our absolute best to keep our fish happy and healthy! Hopefully we'll see you soon. -James

2013-04-05 23:42:31   The staff at RtR is very friendly and helpful. Their fish are the healthiest I've seen at any pet store. They have start-up kits and are very helpful with fish newbies who are just starting up a tank. —gurglemeow

  • We do our very best to help everyone find their fish, whether it be a seasoned aquarium veteran or a beginner, we want everyone to be as successful as possible. -James

2013-04-19 15:08:48   Been buying fish from these guys for about six months now awesome place great guys lots of knowledge and great selection —StephenBernardo

  • Thanks Stephen! I hope all your fish are doing well. Hopefully you can get your bigger tank up and running in no time! I know you are itching to set up a large planted tank. -James

2013-05-21 08:16:27   We stopped by with our young son this weekend and were amazed at just how many tanks are tucked away in the many rooms of this store. Beautiful fish, wonderfully kind and patient owner who talked to us about them. So glad to see this store in Davis! —EvaG

  • Glad the family enjoyed our store. Make sure to stop by again! We'd love to see you. -James

2013-07-09 14:08:30   I absolutely love this store. They are so knowledgable and helpful. We have 3 tanks in our house and have gotten the best advice about how to set up the tanks, what kinds of fish to keep together, cautions about certain kinds of fish that may not be the best for our lifestyle. James really listens to the needs and wants and gives his best advice based on what you tell him. It's obvious that he thoroughly enjoys fish and wants to share his knowledge with others so they can enjoy them too. The store also has healthy fish and is clean. —johkir

  • Glad I could be of service. We not only want to be a store where people can get everything they need for tanks, but also a learning institution! Stop by and talk about fish, and ask questions! We love to answer them. We want everyone single person that walks into the store to go home and be successful with their fish. -James

2013-09-10 22:07:28   I am kind of new to fish. I have recently found myself caring for a common pleco. He is several months old and is already about 5 inches long. He is currently in a small 5 gallon tank. Do I need to get a bigger tank as he seems to be crowded by all of the other 6 fish? Do you think it is best to keep him alone in a tank? What is an affordable tank option and what do I need to do keep him happy? —MaxLucas

  • Hi Max, I would highly recommend getting him a bigger tank. That being said common plecos can (and will) grow to 18 inches. You can stop by and see some of our big guys. With that said, if you really wanted to keep him (for a while) you should probably get him at least a 20 gallon tank, but he will out grow that. Eventually he will need at least a 75 gallon tank. We typically do not sell common pleco for this reason, instead steering customers toward plecos that do not grow as large. Please feel free to stop in with any more questions! —James

2013-12-18 16:03:44   Great job guys - I really love the store. Not many places around with such good service. I just started my first reef tank (75gal) and they have given me great advice. When I've needed something they have been able to get it for me in 1-2 days! Two thumbs up. —LucasCollins

  • Thanks for your kind words Lucas, we always try our best to get things as quickly as possible. We are happy to hear that the tank is turning out well. We are going to be expanding our coral frag section sometime in the near future, so keep an eye out of that! —James

2014-11-27 09:08:40   Your Water is Hard, Your Choice Is Not!

Woodland Aquarium, which was a great store, has closed.

This means that for several communities in this area that have hard water Rivers to Reef is the only hard water, owned and operated store. It is owned and operated by James.

Particularly for the advanced aquarium keeper, but really for all aquarium keepers, an owned and operated store provides special services.

For example, I can at least give some of my excess fish to Jim. The other stores will not even consider taking them for free.

Furthermore, Jim can provide more expert advice than the chain store employees. Besides many years of experience with aquariums, he has a BA or a BS in aquaculture.

Rivers to Reef has more unusual fish than the other stores.

Finally, one is generally less likely to get a disease that is going to wipe out your tank at an owned and operated store.

So support our only owned and operated, hard water aquarium store!

How? Tell your aquarium keeping friends about Rivers to Reef. particularly spread the word in Woodland, Dixon, and Winters. With the closing of Woodland Aquarium, Rivers to Reef in Davis is your best choice. Even for people who live in Vacaville but commute to Sacramento Rivers to Reef is also probably their best choice.

Spread the word, because one good owned and operated store is a lot better than none.

Richard Bruce —Richard-Bruce

2019-12-14 20:04:17   This store is out-of-business. —mattmeyers

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