About
The Wet Spot Tropical Fish is a Portland, OR institution that aquarists drive hours to reach — regulars come from Idaho and across the Pacific Northwest, and plenty make the 45-minute trek through PDX traffic just to walk the aisles. It holds one of the largest freshwater selections in the region, and it's the kind of fish store where you go hunting for something you can't find anywhere else. Wild-caught L141 plecos, umbrella cichlids and apistogramma, ram cichlids, bichirs, bala sharks, congo and cardinal tetras, pearl and sparkling gourami, platies, and blue rasboras all turn up here, alongside a betta selection that's been noticeably upgraded.
If you want rare freshwater fish for sale in Portland, OR, this is the benchmark. The scale is immediately obvious: row after row of clean, well-maintained tanks that visitors repeatedly call immaculate, with healthy, colored-up stock and rarely a sick or dead fish in sight. Beyond livestock there's a deep range of live plants — anubias, nano species, and bonsai driftwood hardscape — plus tanks, dry goods, food, and equipment at multiple budget levels.
A standout is "the dojo," a hands-on hardscape station where you can arrange driftwood and stone to preview a layout before you commit. Staff will also test a cup of your tank water and walk you through getting a planted setup cycled and ready for fish. Service hinges on timing.
There's a sign-up sheet at the register, and on busy weekend mornings waits of 30 to 45 minutes are common. Staff like Mike (assistant manager), Georgie, and Rosie earn warm praise for patience and fish-sexing know-how, though some visitors find the experience rushed or the recommendations uneven. Pricing runs higher than big-box stores and is a recurring sticking point.
Still, for Portland-area hobbyists chasing healthy livestock, rare species, and live plants available in Portland, OR, The Wet Spot remains the destination — just budget your time and your wallet accordingly.
What they offer
Fish & livestock for sale at The Wet Spot Tropical Fish in Portland, OR
The Wet Spot Tropical Fish stocks rare and hard-to-find species, cichlids, discus, betta fish, goldfish, tetras, plecos, shrimp, aquarium plants and freshwater fish for sale in Portland, OR. As a fish store serving Portland, OR, it also carries dry goods, aquarium equipment and fish food and offers aquarium consultations, water testing and aquascaping.
- Livestock & products
- Rare SpeciesCichlidsDiscusLive PlantsPlanted TanksBettasGoldfishTetrasPlecosShrimpCatfishLivebearersInvertebratesDry GoodsAquarium EquipmentFish Food
- Services
- Specializes in
Highlights
What makes them special
- One of the largest freshwater fish selections in the Pacific Northwest
- Rare and wild-caught species like L141 plecos, apistogramma, and bichirs
- Deep live-plant selection plus "the dojo" hands-on hardscape station
- Immaculate, well-maintained tanks with consistently healthy stock
- In-store water testing and planted-tank setup guidance
From keepers
Customer reviews
“I’m on a Thursday afternoon. Have been told to go her several times for knowledge on eco tanks and to get cherry shrimp. Walked around for 20 minutes with no staff member willing to talk or help. Maybe came in an off day. But likely contour to go elsewhere”
— Hailey Howlan3.03 days ago“Wide selection and knowledgeable staff”
— Racheal Blais5.03 days ago“Friendly people, great selection, quality fish.”
— snapon1003 s5.0a week ago“I went here with my daughter for her birthday to get a beta fish. We had to sign in to be helped as there was about a 45 min wait, I had no problem with it being busy.. I was actually surprised and delighted to see this many people in a hobby shop on a weekend morning! The woman that helped us kind of made us feel pressured to go beyond our budget and then made us feel guilty for going with a less expensive, smaller tank. She spoke over us and asserted her expertise, but sort of didn’t answer our questions directly. I could tell she was trying to be helpful, but it felt a little rushed and pushy. Long story short we went elsewhere and got the same products for much less. And it turns out we didn’t need all the supplies, accessories and treatments we were being sold at The Wet Spot. It’s a big, beautiful shop, great environment, very clean too but unfortunately this interaction kind of dampened the joy of my daughter’s experience of getting her first fish. -Thanks for responding, we will pop back in, in the future (she already wants more fish) 😂”
— Emily Schmiedel3.0Edited a week ago“Bring a cup of your tank water to have it tested. Bring photos and/or videos of your fish that might need help. They will point you in the correct direction for a happy healthy tank! I love the variety of life plants for my outdoor fish tank. I always have a good time shopping at the Wet Spot and sometimes I also learn things. Thanks!”
— Audrey Taylor5.0a week ago“Best aquarium shop in town - staff are always super nice and knowledgeable.”
— Jennifer Ventling5.03 weeks ago“My name is Eileen Edwards and I want to encourage people to buy fish here ! I have done 2 large orders from them with my fish ( many pygmy Corydoras that can be fragile )arriving happy and healthy! Amanda responds quickly to any email and the fish arrive packed perfectly. I have done a lot of research and the fish here are fairly priced and a good assortment. They ship overnight and my fish arrived from Portland to Florida in less than 24 hours . Love The Wet Spot”
— Oceanbound Stables5.0a month ago“Been coming for years. Good stock, but the service is awful. The girl with the Ava tattoo and rainbow tattoo was the person who served me. Absolutely disgusting attitude. I was in good spirits until she called for me. She was visibly disgusted with having to pronounce my name, she got it wrong, twice, and that’s totally fair!!! However when I told her my name. She called me funky and weird. For a spelling of my name I was giving at birth. All of this. Just for waiting to get black worms. She came back, “ok now what” I told her that was it. And she said she liked my name. Not sorry that she insulted me. This made me extremely uncomfortable and upset. Not only that, she very rudely interrupted a conversation I had started with a customer. I know I’ll have to come back for more products. But I’ll be very apprehensive and looking to leave quickly. It’s not the 20 min wait I had being the only name on the list. It’s not the prices. It’s the attitude.”
— Andru Lucas3.0Edited a month ago“I saw a couple videos online showing "The Wet Spot" store as well as the warehouse and I was impressed by the care they put into making sure they take care of stock properly. I decided to give it a try since what I was looking for specifically was difficult to find at local fish stores. I expected the possibility that I may have a couple DOA fish. But they came quickly from Oregon to Ohio without any issues. The Cacatuoides pair exceeded my expectations. The cherry barbs arrived looking plump and healthy and quite colorful. The tetras looked a little worse for wear I assumed from the stress of shipping. They had torn and missing fins, but they were energetic and seemed ok. After just 7 days, and a little tic good food and extra clean water they have grown thier fins back! I didn't have a single fish death out of all of them and my Cacatuoides have even started thier courtship, and spawning already! I would highly recomend getting fish from "The Wet Spot" to all my friends. *update The apistogramma babies hatched yesterday! Very excited to see them grow. Now I need to make a new tank for them though! It's a good problem to have”
— Olivia Orahoske5.0Edited a month ago“The Wetspot has been my Go to freshwater fish store for years. I am And always have been so impressed with them. Compliments to the owner for an incredible operation everything from start to finish has always been a wonderful experience. Kat The customer rep Does an awesome job she is A role model for what customer service represents. I can’t thank her enough for all the Patience she’s had with me always striving to accommodate my special requests. This store is a Hallmark for the industry. They have a very impressive website with extremely. Quick delivery and communication. The inventory is quite extensive Whether you’re looking for your typical common fish to hard to find rare ones. The packing job is fabulous and They even take the extra time to tape all of the scenes of the box going that little extra to ensure a proper insulation job. I would highly recommend them. You can’t go wrong here. Thank you Wetspot For bringing such joy into my life with the extremely healthy and beautiful fish that you sent me.”
— Domenick CHILELLI5.0a month ago
Reference
Frequently asked questions
Note — Store information and services may change. Always call (503) 287-3339 to confirm current availability, hours, and services before visiting The Wet Spot Tropical Fish.