JAMESVILLE – Known around the area for its ample array of fish, Syracuse Aquarium & Pond Supply is soon ending its run.
The specialty aquarium store proclaimed to be the oldest and largest in Central New York has been situated on North Street in Jamesville for 23 years.
Before opening Syracuse Aquarium & Pond Supply, owner Jerry Johnson ran similar businesses out of ShoppingTown Mall in DeWitt, Marketplace Mall in Cicero, Fairmount Fair in Camillus and Riverside Mall in Utica.
“That’s when malls were malls,” he said. “They were always busy.”
It all started, though, when Johnson began cleaning out fish tanks in local pediatrician offices and private households at age nine.
“It’s like having a paper route,” the 72-year-old said. “Every month they’ve gotta be done, and you go down the list of ones to visit.”
Now closing in on 52 years since the opening of his first shop on Marshall Street, Johnson said that at any given time he would have at least 120 freshwater tanks up for sale in his current aquarium and pond supply. As the store winds down, however, he plans to have that number dwindle until most everything in stock is cleared.
A go-to for fish from bloodfin tetra to pearl gourami as well as pond plants like Ludwigia, the Jamesville shop has long been cared for on the managerial side by Johnson’s son Christian Discenza.
On the days that Discenza would work the store alone, Johnson would go around town carrying out maintenance tasks for customers while ensuring the direct import of fish from places such as Vietnam and Singapore.
Also hoping to retire to Florida for the winters, Johnson said he thought it best to close his last standing supply shop because of the strain brought on by Christian’s present battle with lung cancer.
“I’d just like to thank everybody for supporting us all these years,” Johnson said. “It’s been a good run, and there’s been no negativeness at all. I’m gonna miss it, but you’ve gotta move on sometimes.”
Undecided about when its official final day will be and unsure what business will take its place, Johnson said the closure of Syracuse Aquarium & Pond Supply will likely come in March.
