Kissena Aquarium Inc — Attraction in New York

A well kept and apportioned basement level aquarium fish store in Flushing. It is equidistant along Kissena Blvd from Queens College to the south and Main St & Roosevelt Avenue to the north. Parking is strictly side streets only as most of Kissena Blvd in that section is restricted meter or no parking zones from what I can see. If you commute by bus the Q17 and 25/34 have a stop nearby. The owner and staff (family?) were very friendly without being intrusive. I explored the shop on my own and never felt as if I were being pestered or ignored... a very delicate balance that they achieve. My primary interests are cichlids... African (Malawi Mbuna... Electric Yellow Labidichromis).... Central Anerican (Convict Cichlids in all of their color morphs) ... and South American (Uaru's)... all kept in separate species tanks. All have very different water parameters but are representative of fish I have kept over the years ( fish keeping since I was 8... an now 54...46 years of living this hobby) from the vast cichlid family. The selections at Kissena included representatives from the first two species. Uaru's are generally a lot harder to find as they are not part of the top 20 cichlid species that most keep. It is often referred to as the Poor Man's Discus with similar care parameters. The quality of the stock I would rate as 3.5 to 4.5 for most of the species on display. That includes tropical and saltwater fish and invertebrates. Their hybrid fish... Flower Horns ... Blood Parrots etc... appear to rank out at 4.5 out of 5. I am not into hybrid fish but if you are it appears that they sell quality fish. Lastly their Koi and Goldfish top out at 4.0 to 4.5 as well. All in all the tanks are clean and all of the fish appear disease free. I spent an hour and a half just going from tank to tank to assess the quality of the fish and how well the store is maintained. That coupled with good customer service gets a 5 star rating from me. The only caveat is that there are no returns on livestock. This will become one of my go to stores in eastern Queens. Lastly the owner will attempt to fulfill exotic fish requests if available. Again a great bunch of people...polite and helpful. One of my three go to stores in...

It's nice to look through and there is a lovely cat (that is surprisingly thin, honestly). There is a pretty good selection and it's leagues better than the pet store on Northern Blvd and Main St (well, since the last time I've been) but the one by SkyView Mall (Monster Aquarium) is just nicer.

A few warning signs. I have only rarely ever had ick before ... Maybe once or twice but it's been so long and it was so rare it's truly hard to remember. I'm pretty sure my fish were received with Ick and it took over and I lost the fish I bought (no over stocking issues or water issues even though a newly cycled tank).

I should have noticed there was an issue as when the owner netted the fish, one literally exploded from the stomach. The owner made a joke "not that one.. heh" and I was so traumatized even though I had reservations I continued the purchases. When I went back the owener new what the problem was and sold me Ick medicine which was inefficient and over priced (by 200%)

I will visit and look around and may by small items if I really need it (it's local) but fish and live items will be purchased at Monster Aquarium, one of the other good aquarium shops on Northern Blvd or if I purchase fish from Aquarium I will quarantine new fish and medicate animals on the assumption they are ill.

Kissena Aquarium is less expensive (no taxes if paying by cash) and if you quarantine and treat your fish you should be okay,...

One of my local fish stores located in the basement. Parking in directly in front is hard to come by but that can be solved by parking in the block or at the supermarket parking lot across the street.

Owner is friendly and knowledgable in fish keeping, however the place is kinda cramped and dark. The reviews of the owner not quarantining is somewhat true, it's been hit or miss with whether or not the fish I buy get ich (However this is the case with most aquariums around the neighborhood and is the reason why we should quarantine).

Decent sized selection of BOTH fresh and saltwater fish given the size of the place. There is also a bunch of fish meds and food located in front of the register. Possibly one of the better places to find deals on fish (i.e. 4 for x dollars). However, their plant selection is limited and their driftwood selection is small.

Been coming here for years and drop by frequently to see what's in stock. Have purchased goldfish, guppies, silver dollars, and a giant gourami; all of which are still healthy and alive. Although not a massive selection as compared to KHC & Monster, the prices here are...