About
Tucked into Livingston, Montana — a town better known for fly fishing than reef tanks — Crystal Clear Aquariums has built a reputation that draws hobbyists from as far as Billings and Belgrade. Owner Tanner and his team, including staff members Malachi and Cara, have created something that multiple reviewers describe as feeling more like walking into an actual public aquarium than a retail shop. The coral reef step displays and dynamic aquatic scenes stop visitors in their tracks the moment they walk through the door, past the lionfish that guards the entrance.
The store carries a serious range of both freshwater and saltwater livestock. Customers have picked up arowanas, loaches, white cloud minnows, ghost shrimp, crawdads, and an impressive variety of corals — species you'd typically have to order online. Live plants are a clear strength, with healthy stock that keeps planted tank enthusiasts coming back.
They also sell filtered water, heaters, filters, tank lights, and a solid spread of dry goods and fish food, making it genuinely possible to build an entire setup from scratch here. What sets Crystal Clear apart is the caliber of care. Tanner once talked a fish-sitter through an emergency pump failure over the phone while the owner was on vacation, then came over to fix the issue — saving the entire tank.
Malachi has been known to give personalized tours of the saltwater section, feed his grouper friend for visitors, and walk customers through exactly how to expand a 10-gallon setup on a budget. Cara fields freshwater questions with expertise and humor. Even on chaotic shipment days with boxes stacked everywhere, no one gets brushed off.
The tanks throughout the store are consistently described as clean and well-maintained, with no dead or sick fish in sight — a detail experienced hobbyists notice immediately. Prices are called fair and even incredible for the quality of livestock available. For anyone building or maintaining a freshwater or saltwater system in Montana, Crystal Clear Aquariums is a destination worth the drive.
What they offer
Livestock, services, water
- Livestock & products
- Services
- Specializes in
Highlights
What makes them special
- Spectacular in-store aquarium displays with coral reef steps and diverse livestock scenes
- Lionfish greeting customers at the front entrance
- Carries hard-to-find species like arowanas and diverse corals in rural Montana
- Owner Tanner provided emergency after-hours tank support during a pump failure
- Staff gives personalized tours and tailored setup recommendations for any budget
From keepers
Customer reviews
“He's a great guy, lots of high end products, thanks for helping me find the perfect setup 👊”
— Nick Tsantrizos5.03 years ago“Don't have hours open posted and don't answer phone”
— White Buffalo1.03 years ago“Amazing store and service!!!!!”
— Jesse Wipf5.04 years ago“Awesome service and very knowledgeable.”
— JoAnn Frizzell5.04 years ago“My new favorite place! We've been to tons of fish stores and this was by far the best! Incredibly knowledgeable and kind. Very attentive and great customer service! Totally worth the drive from Billings! Will be making this trip often! Thank you Crystal Clear Aquariums for the amazing new additions to our tank!”
— Devin Paulson5.04 years ago“Great service. Very helpful.”
— Tim Paulson5.04 years ago“Great customer service, very knowledgeable.”
— Judy Andrews5.04 years ago“I was taken here as a surprise and when I walked in, my mouth dropped at the spectacular aquarium set-up of the store. It’s more like an actual aquarium with the coral reef steps and the plethora of diverse livestock and dynamic aquatic scenes! Cara (sp?) approached us in their fresh water section and answered all our questions and was not only incredibly knowledgeable, she was super funny and offered insightful hobbyist tips. We ended up picking up a nice little haul of adorable plants and fish, and left looking forward to coming back after they received their in-coming shipment of shrimp. Today was the day we were able to return and this time Malachi (sp?) approached us while we were gawking at the treasures in their salt water section. Again we found ourselves in the care of an experienced and perceptive aquarium professional. He gave us a tour of the salt water section and fed a grouper that he had made friends with and told us how we could have a mini salt water set-up of our own. After our tour of the fresh water section, he showed us how we can add a hanging filtration addition off of our 10 gallon in order to expand our livestock or we could purchase a new 15 gallon tank that was also in our price range. We ended this trip with new plants, adorable shrimp and a sweet little crawdad. We are still settling in to our new place, but once we’re ready, we’re definitely heading back for that 15 gallon or mini salt water set-up next. Highly recommend Crystal Clear Aquariums!!”
— Xev Zavala5.04 years ago“Was visiting Montana with family and decided to stop by for a minute to check them out. We were so surprised by the variety of fish they had, everything was clean and beautiful and staff were super friendly and helpful. Kids had a blast. One of our most memorable experiences on our trip! Definitely check them out!”
— Diana Potapenko5.04 years ago“So I had gone into Crystal clear earlier this week looking for some loaches. They didn’t have any but they let me know that they had a shipment coming in and they should have some this weekend. So I went in today just as they were receiving their shipment. There was five or six customers in there and boxes stacked on boxes of fish that the three employees were trying to unpack and acclimate to the tanks in the store. OK so now that you know that it was hectic and crazy in there you will understand why I am writing this review. I have never in my life felt so valued as a customer!!! Even though they had 10 million things to do not one of them had a bad attitude or looked at me sideways when I said that I wanted three loaches and there was only two in the bag. they were more than happy to get another one even though they had so much work to do, their heads were about to spontaneously combust. This kind of customer service is what these big corporate businesses strive for. The knowledge and the care that the employees have at that shop is nothing less than extraordinary!!!!”
— Carissa Emerson4.04 years ago
Reference
Frequently asked questions
Note — Store information and services may change. Always call (406) 585-1151 to confirm current availability, hours, and services before visiting Crystal Clear Aquariums.