diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/hickle/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/hickle/default.nix
index f481509e6a3..6dbaf073d78 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/hickle/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/hickle/default.nix
@@ -31,10 +31,14 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
   '';
 
   propagatedBuildInputs = [ h5py numpy dill ];
+
+  doCheck = false; # incompatible with latest astropy
   checkInputs = [
     pytest pytestcov pytestrunner coveralls scipy pandas astropy twine check-manifest codecov
   ];
 
+  pythonImportsCheck = [ "hickle" ];
+
   meta = {
     description = "Serialize Python data to HDF5";
     homepage = "https://github.com/telegraphic/hickle";