A small two person Texas Company
A story about our contribution to the hobby
Get to know us
Our story and our store
Pod Your Reef’s story began when we adopted “Mandy the Mandarin” from a fellow reefer who was breaking down his tank. We knew we owed it to Mandy to create an enviroment that was as close to a mandarin’s natural existance as possible. We wanted her to have a natural food source just as she would out in the ocean. We started cultivating pods for her and she thrived.
Our love and devotion to Mandy drove our passion to begin caring for the reef community’s fishes who, like Mandy, do best on a live sustainable food source. So, in 2015 we founded Pod Your Reef. We are a family owned company in the San Antonio, Texas suburbs. Our focus is on providing a handfull of excellent products and treating customers like neighbors (ones you like, that is). This allows us to stay focused on quality and offer dense cultures that are top notch.
First and foremost
Our Values As a Small Family Business
As a small family business we are driven by a set of fundamental values that we want to share with you. company is driven by two key values.
We're small and we're happy about it. We have no intention is becoming huge and putting profits before our friends in the hobby. We want you to know that you're buying from hobbyist first and a business second.
RESPONSBILE HUSBANDRY
First, a passion for keeping healthy and natural reefs. We work hard to provide the absolute best quality and densest pods at a reasonable price-because let’s be honest…reefing ain’t cheap!
Your tank can survive without our products but if you’re interested in providing the most natural enviroment and nutrient rich feeds for the specimens you love then you should shop our store.
EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE
Second, we are committed to excellent customer service. We strive to be accessible, honest and friendly. We are not a big box store. We want to know every one of our customers. Each box that is shipped is packaged by us- Josh or Cassity. We take care to ensure your order arrives in a timely fashion and in the best condition. When customers place a last minute order, when possible we personally rush to get it out the door and onto the USPS or FedEx truck! We also want you to know we have your back; you can send us a message and we will personally get back to you. This hobby is complex so we want to make sure that if you have a question-we get you an answer asap.
As mentioned we're small but we strive to ensure that your messages, concerns are answered in a timely fashion. With that said we usually respond right away or within a couple of hours if it's late at night.
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Meet
Josh, Ph.D.
Although Pod Your Reef began in 2015, our founder, Dr. Josh, developed a love for salt water aquariums at a young age. Josh grew up in California watching the surfers at Monterey Bay and going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (worth a trip if you haven’t been!). As a kid he begged his Mom for an aquarium but she wouldn’t give in (she confirms this story). In college, he started a 12 gallon nano and was hooked. The tanks have grown over the years but he still has that little 12 gallon nano in a box in the garage. Josh has extensive knowledge and experience with breeding colonies, husbandry, and complex breeding strategies including work in congenic, consomic models.
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Meet
Cassity, M.S.
Cassity married into the salt water aquarium hobby. She instantly appreciated the art of reef keeping when Josh set up their first aquarium and her love for Mandarin fish made it easy to say yes to starting Pod Your Reef. Cassity stays busy by taking care of their little one and helping operate Pod Your Reef. The business and the baby are growing fast and together her and Josh are loving every minute!