Brooklyn Bike Tour: Saltwater Tropical Fish, Free Aquarium Tour

Brooklyn Bike Tour: Salt Water Tropical Fish, Free Aquarium Tour
June 2011, Updated July 2018

This project started when I needed to select a natural looking (think soil colored) small gravel or pebbles to put in my new custom welded (not soldered) copper plant tray [company now out-of-business]. Then I have always admired salt water/marine fish. They are way more colorful than fresh water fish. And much harder to maintain.

To take my Brooklyn Storefront pictures, I created bicycle tours using Google Maps. Merging these all together gets this tour of all the aquarium stores in Brooklyn that sell salt water/marine fish. The stores are grouped into four neighborhoods: Sunset Park/Brooklyn Chinatown, Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay, and Georgetown (northwest of Bergen Beach). You can bicycle it, or part of it, and make it a day's free aquarium tour.

To end my gravel story, the gravel I liked best was CaribSea Instant Aquarium 'Peace River' Gravel. Online it is sold at Amazon and Petco [no longer carry]. I was expecting to find it at my local Petco, but instead I bought 25# of Petco branded Pebble Beach Mix for under $15. It appears to be the same as the Peace River I wanted. Most local aquarium stores carry the Estes' line of gravels. While Estes' does make creek mixes, they aren't that easy to find locally and often only in expensive 5# bags.

The Google map was an 11.7 mile bicycle route with stops at 10 stores. These were all the stores I could find in Brooklyn with salt water/marine fish. On a July 2018 link check review I found that six had closed. Now it becomes a 5.7 mile route with four stops.

Sunset Park/Brooklyn Chinatown

None left - until further research

Bensonhurst

6310 Bay Pkwy

Tamco Aquarium & Supplies
6310 Bay Pkwy 11204 [22nd Ave bet. 63rd-64th Sts]
(718) 232-2885
Mon-Fri: 10:30-8
Business Card Scan
Yelp Reviews

Only fish and some bait and tackle. There are 2 large and 6+ small salt water tanks to the left as you walk in. There were only a few large fish. This is not a must stop on the tour.

Georgetown (northwest of Bergen Beach)

2377 Ralph Ave

Brooklyn Zoo & Aquarium
2377 Ralph Ave 11234 [bet. Aves M and N]
(718) 251-7389
M-F: 10-8, Sa-Su: 10-6
Business Card Scan
Yelp Reviews

Family owned and operated for 20 years. Fish are more than half the store. They have two large salt water tanks, one large reef tank, plus many small tanks mostly with small invertebrates. They sell custom aquariums.

No Storefronts to Visit

Bushwick

28 Locust St

Anchor Aquarium Service Inc.
28 Locust St 11206 b/t Beaver St & Broadway
(718) 781-2830
Yelp Reviews

Has salt water fish. Only custom installations.

Greenpoint

44 Dobbin St

City Aquarium LLC
44 Dobbin St 11222 b/t Nassau Ave & Norman Ave, Greenpoint
(718) 388-0200
Yelp Reviews

Has salt water fish. Only custom site-specific designs.