Granite City Aquaria in St Cloud, Minnesota is a focused, family-owned tropical fish store that has earned a devoted following by doing one thing exceptionally well: freshwater aquatics. Walk in and you'll find meticulously maintained tanks stocked with healthy fish, a rotating selection of live plants grown on-site, and an impressive variety of invertebrates including colorful shrimp and Mexican dwarf crayfish. The selection punches well above its weight for a smaller storefront.
Reviewers rave about finding harder-to-source freshwater species — one customer left thrilled with an L114 leopard cactus pleco, while others have picked up fancy guppies, axolotls, frogs, snails, and bettas. Plants range from banana plants and alternanthera reineckii to floating frogbit and duckweed, many propagated in-house. The store also carries locally made fish food, natural driftwood and rocks, substrate, filters, and complete package setups for those starting from scratch.
What truly sets Granite City Aquaria apart is the depth of guidance offered by the staff. Employees like Alex and Crowley are mentioned by name across dozens of reviews for their patience and expertise — walking customers through tank cycling, plant-fish compatibility in small tanks, substrate selection, and ongoing care routines. 5-gallon planted ecosystem entirely with the store's help, stocking it with guppies, dwarf crayfish, shrimp, snails, and multiple plant species.
The store also offers water testing support and will buy back or trade in fish and old tanks. Pricing is consistently described as fair and reasonable, with plants running slightly higher than big-box stores — a trade-off most customers happily accept given they're locally grown and healthy. Fish are transparently labeled if any health concerns arise, a level of honesty that builds real trust.
The store focuses exclusively on aquatics, with no distractions from dogs or cat food aisles, and that singular focus shows in every tank. For freshwater enthusiasts in central Minnesota, this is the real deal.
Adam Rudolph
17 reviews
Very helpful
Will Traverse
72 reviews
Owners a sweet lady. Will be back
Tasha Allstott
15 reviews
I love this store, it is the best place in town to talk about fish and supplies, they have decent prices and sometimes they have full grown fish which none of the other pet stores have, they also have a good variety. The only 2 complaint is that some of the plants are more expensive then other stores but honestly it’s not bad considering they grow them themselves while other stores buy them resell them. Second, I have went about 50x during normal day-day business hours and they were not open, this used to be my first idea when I’d think fish store but my day is too busy to be working around a stores schedule so I no longer go here first or at all really. :(
Rebecca Jurney
2 reviews
This place is awesome! They are very knowledgeable on the fish, plants and whatever else you need for your tank. I will only go to this store for my aquarium needs. It’s also family owned. I will support local businesses before the corporate business. They take very good care of their fish and plants. The fish I’ve gotten there are healthy & doing great. Thank you so much!! I will definitely be back.
Debbi Harms
6 reviews
We visited this shop today and were very impressed. Prices on fish seemed fair. All aquariums were clean and all the fish looked healthy. The staff were very knowledgeable and very friendly. We will be back and definitely recommend others check it out as well.
Carissa Peterson
8 reviews
The staff is so friendly and helpful. They have a lot of freshwater fish that slare harder to find. I wish they were closer, so I could shop more!
Joseph
The only place i get my aquarium needs from. They know what they are talking about and are very helpful
Ella Weyhrauch
3 reviews
Always very kind and helpful! Very knowledgeable in aquariums. They’ll buy your old fishtanks or sell you fish to stock it.
Rolf rasmussen
7 reviews
Brought some fish in to trade for store credit. Price they gave me was a little low, but I know how it is. I bought fish also and am very happy with how healthy they are. Very nice clean tropical fish store. I will be back. Very friendly service also
Sonia Ricke
6 reviews
Offers great options and advice, even for beginners. Quality products. Healthy fish. Our family has visited the store 4 times in the past 2 months as we made plans for a tank and fish. Staff were helpful with answering questions and guidance. We now have a very happy betta and snails. We have returned to the store for their food, live plants, assortment of natural wood/rocks.
Note: Store information and services may change. Always call (320) 296-5473 to confirm current availability, hours, and services before visiting Granite City Aquaria.
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421 9th Ave N ste 101, St Cloud, MN 56303
February 7, 2026
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