We've been coming here for years (procrastinated on leaving a review), but these guys are nothing short of awesome! Their prices are very reasonable considering this is an expensive hobby as it is, but Jake (the owner) goes above and beyond by offering a discounted day every first Friday of the month, food and beer included. Every staff member is super customer-friendly and knowledgeable (shoutout to Francis who's been our long time go-to guy for everything) and they never rush you or push you into buying anything. They have a great selection of fish and coral and continue to upgrade and expand their shop. They are definitely worth checking out! read more

This is a great store. The staff are really helpful for newbies and help explain what needs to be done. Starting to get into salt water and been going in to ask questions and every time I get amazing help and suggestions. I will be purchasing my fish and corals from here as soon as I get the tank up and running. I suggest y'all do the same too! Keep up the great work guys! read more

When I need top off water, I usually get my water here. This is the only place that help me bring the water jug to the car. The other places I have to carry out myself unless I asked. The selection of corals was not impressive but adequate. read more

I know nothing about fish, but have recently inherited a fish tank from my boyfriend. I went into their shop this weekend and 2 of their employees took a great deal of time to educate me on the proper care and maintenance of the fish we currently have. I'll definitely be doing all of my "fish" shopping at this store! read more

Great selection of salt & fresh water fish. River city helped us start up both our tanks, & they are always helpful when we have a problem. Wouldnt go anywhere else! read more

You can't find a nicer person than Jake! I highly suggest RCA for your fish needs!

We decided to get an aquarium a few months ago. We started doing research on fish stores around the area and even went to visit most of them. I have to say that River City Aquatics has been the best to deal with. We have dealt mainly with Jake (owner) and Octavio. They have always been pleasant, professional, and more than willing to share their knowledge with us when we go in...whether to just look around or to buy. We have had awesome luck with the fish we have purchased through them and we love their First Friday of the Month sales. We bought new substrate over a week ago and had inquired about purchasing a giraffe catfish. He told us the best time to get one was on a Monday when they drained the tank partially. We called yesterday to see if we could purchase the catfish through the first Friday deal and just come in to pick him up on Monday when they drained the tank. They said, "Sure." When we arrived to make the purchase, they had actually caught one for us and had him ready to go. What a great surprise for us! It is definitely worth the trip to River City Aquatics. They usually post the new arrivals on their Facebook page as well. They are definitely our "go to" guys for our aquarium needs. (Now, if you want decorations - you will need to go elsewhere as they focus on the fish!) read more

Bunch of great guys that are very knowledgable. They gave me some great advice on setting up my 200 gallon reef tank. The live rock is real reef rock as opposed to fake reef rock. Been very happy with RCA. read more

Seems River City decided to focus ONLY on frag corals and now has very limited to NO coral colonies for sale. They completely alienated their client base who is ONLY interested in colonies and NOT frags. Looks like Aquatek and Aquadome will be getting 100% of my business from now on. It pays to keep your eye on the client needs and wants. River City made a mistake in my opinion. read more

I was shopping around at a couple stores today to learn about aquariums and get my son setup with a tank. We didn't buy anything (yet) but River City was by far the most helpful and best store we went to today. It appeared to be a mother and son helping my son and me. They both really knew their stuff, they got me the information we needed. Now I just need to figure out the size tank we're going with and go back to get everything. read more

what a really cool place.... Fish Gallery in Austin sold me fish they knew were sick and killed my whole tank (heartbreaking) - these guys would never do that... great people working there.. helpful whether you buy anything or not... smaller selection, but way better quality.. and they want to be sure your fish will survive - they ask alot of questions before selling to you - they are not interested in pushing fish.... very nice fish - good people read more

These guys are extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Highly recommended for selection of Cichlids and saltwater fish. A++++++++

Top tier store! Clean, organized, friendly staff, great selection of salt and freshwater livestock! Would have to say this is one of my absolute favorite fish stores in town. Never let down when I stop in and Jake has been great. Really stand up and trustworthy guy. Would definitely recommend you stop by. read more

This place sells salt and freshwater fish with an emphasis on salt. Their saltwater stock is large and looks impressive. If you are looking for African Cichlids, they have the biggest selection I've seen in town, not just Mbunas, but shellies and other interesting things. Their cichlids tend to be younger and a little harder to judge sometimes, but are priced well. Their freshwater tropical fish selection is really so-so, though they do have a fair selection of plants. They get different stock in at different times and update their web site about recent orders which gives a sense of what they will have in the store. While their staff are nice and seem reasonably knowledgeable, every time I've gone in there I've had to wait a long time to actually get someone to help me, though maybe I just hit it at busy times. Their stock is usually healthy, though I have seen a few points where a tank didn't look good, so check carefully. read more

These guys are fantastic. Jake was so helpful and honest with me about setting up a new tank and what to put in it and what to avoid. Everyone he has working there that I have in interacted with have been great. The store is clean, the tanks are clean and the selection for marine life is great. read more

Jake and another member of his staff (I forgot his name but he has long hair) are very knowledgeable and helpful. Definitely NOT "yes men" that push you to buy anything. He's even suggested that we not buy a pricier fish because our tank couldn't hold it. Taught us about the importance of having a quarantine tank. Calibrated my refractomer(which I didn't even purchase from him), and taught us how to recalibrate it when needed. He has great prices and won't sell you a fish until he's 100% sure it's free of any disease that could kill our other fish (which other fish stores in austin don't even quarantine! read more

I've seriously been to every fish shop in town, including the ones that have come & gone over the past 10 years. This is one of the two in Austin I'll shop at, the rest I avoid (not mentioning any names). It's far North for me, so I don't make it by very often, but when I do prices are fair and staff is friendly. read more

Went to this store becuase it was close to my house. First there price of live rock is higher than what I ordered from a better store online. Then they sold me base rock at the premium fiji price. I gave them another chance and went to buy some clownfish, the first two long awaited additions to our tank. One died a day later and they have no refund or fish warrenty on saltwater fish. Won't go back. Don't waste your money. read more

This store has some pretty nice employees, but they have never been too helpful for me when I have needed advice or had questions. They give me very short answers and make it seem as if I am bothering them. Their selection of discus are always the same and not ever much variety. I stopped going there for awhile because I didnt want the exact same fish over and over again until one day I just dropped in to see what they had. They actually had 1 discus that was different, so I paid 150 for him. He never acted right in my tank and 8 days later he died. When speaking with the store, they were willing to give me store credit for half of the price I paid to go towards another fish. I was happy to get something, but it was nothing compared to what I paid for a fish that was never good AND it had to go towards another fish. Why would I want another fish when I have had bad experiences with their fish? Also, I dont want to even use store credit for the same old boring strain of discus. My experiences at this place just werent positive enough for me to stay as a loyal customer to them anymore. I will be researching more fish stores in Austin. read more

I've been looking for a large pleco for a while and they sometimes carry them. Their fish are not in the greatest shape I've ever seen but their prices are reasonable. any fish you get from there I would sugest quarentining first before putting it in your main tank. They keep fish in inadequate tanks and alot of them have one disease or another. The main thing that bugs me is the customer service. you could stand there for and hour and not get any help. you have to bully them to even get their attention. I once went in for ghost shrimp, and I stood at the counter for 10 minutes while this guy flirted with a pretty blonde chick. THEY WERENT EVEN TALKING ABOUT FISH!!! I had to push my way in to the conversation to even get him to do anything. They are a pain in the butt and they always have been. Not my favorite store by far I have a petsmart down the road that has much better quality of fish and great customer service. only problem is that they don't carry the size of fish I like to get. I don't really recomend these guys unless you know what you want and you know fish. read more