About
Operating out of Sheridan, Wyoming, Dan's Fish has built a devoted national following as an online freshwater fish retailer with an almost fanatical commitment to quarantine protocols and shipping excellence. The operation — also known through Dan's popular YouTube channel — centers on a simple but powerful philosophy: every fish is quarantined for a minimum of two weeks, with gill scrapings and lab diagnostics performed on incoming stock before anything goes out the door. It's a level of care that has customers happily paying premium prices and overnight UPS shipping costs, knowing their fish will arrive healthy and stay that way.
The selection leans heavily into community freshwater species. Reviewers rave about rummynose tetras, ember tetras, celestial pearl danios (CPDs), gardneri killifish, German Blue Rams, Electric Blue Rams, kissing rice fish, long-fin white cloud mountain minnows, cherry barbs, variatus platies, Santa Maria endlers, double swordtail guppies, hillstream loaches, gobies, Siamese algae eaters, nerite snails, and cherry shrimp. Multiple customers report livebearers arriving pregnant and dropping fry within days — a testament to the health and vitality of the stock.
Packaging is a point of pride. Fish are individually bagged and sealed, with heat packs and styrofoam insulation that have kept animals alive even through multi-day UPS delays in below-freezing winter conditions. One reviewer noted that gobies — typically thrown together in a single bag by other sellers — each arrived in their own sealed container.
The live arrival guarantee feels almost redundant given the care involved. Customer service is responsive and fair. Multiple buyers report receiving immediate refunds with photo documentation when rare shipping injuries occur.
The staff is described as well-trained and genuinely helpful via email. For planted tank keepers and community aquarium enthusiasts across the country, Dan's Fish has become the gold standard for mail-order freshwater livestock — the kind of operation where spending more upfront consistently saves money, heartache, and fish lives in the long run.
What they offer
Livestock, services, water
- Livestock & products
- TetrasLivebearersShrimpInvertebratesRare Species
- Services
- Online StoreShips FishQuarantineConsultation
- Specializes in
Highlights
What makes them special
- Minimum two-week quarantine with lab diagnostics and gill scrapings on all incoming stock
- Individual bagging with heat packs ensures exceptional live arrival rates even in winter
- Wide freshwater selection including rams, tetras, killifish, livebearers, loaches, and shrimp
- Responsive customer service with hassle-free refund policy for shipping issues
- Well-known YouTube presence builds trust and transparency around fish care practices
From keepers
Customer reviews
“Just ordered from these guys for the first time and I’m super happy with the product. The fish came packed super well, and with their own little heat source inside the package. I ordered Rummynose tetras from them and was a little hesitant at first because I know these particular tetras are very susceptible to problems due to stress. (As an example, when I bought some from a local store, almost all of them died immediately- and this was after acclimating to a well established tank with no other problems). The tetras I got from Dan’s were definitely stressed (which is to be expected because of shipping) but they’ve been in my tank for about 4 hours and the color is already starting to come back on their noses. I also got some shrimp and a hillstream loach. They are all doing well. The loach was smaller than I expected, but that just means I’ll get to watch him grow. Shipping policies were very clear, communication about shipping was excellent, and the fish arrived alive and well as promised. I’d definitely recommend giving them a try.”
— Callie Holman5.0a day ago“I’m really disappointed with how my order has been handled. I received an email stating my order would ship on a certain day so I planned around that and even worked from home as a one-time exception to receive the delivery. I later found out the shipment was pushed back because my orders were automatically combined — without any clear notification that this would delay shipping. While customer service did respond and explain what happened, the lack of communication around the change was frustrating and caused unnecessary inconvenience. For a business dealing with live fish, clear and proactive communication around shipping dates is critical, and this experience missed the mark.”
— Adam Dock1.03 days ago“Thrilled with Dan's Fish!! After 2 unsuccessful attempts at getting healthy fish locally I decided to try aquarium bred and mail order. Fish arrived healthy and were eating in the first day. After 2 weeks in my quarantine tank I moved them to my community planted aquarium and all doing great. Really happy!!”
— Paul S5.0a week ago“Ive gotten 25 fish from here and all are doing great. I had one injury itself while in the shipping and i emailed them a pic and they refunded me right away with no hassle at all.”
— Joshua Taylor5.03 weeks ago“Fish are alive and arrived healthy and energetic”
— Brenda Sallie5.0a month ago“I recently purchased 14 fish from Dan's. This was in the middle of winter and UPS delayed the package on a freight truck overnight for an additional day. Fearing the worse, I was immensely relieved and surprised at the care and conditions these fish were packed with. They survived multiple days in below freezing conditions and arrived in excellent shape, packed individually and with extra heat pads. Customer service was responsive and offered to take care of any issues when I contacted them during the shipping delay. 5 stars, I'll definitely be back. Fish all looked very healthy and immediately started moving around. ( Embers, CPD, and gardneri killi)”
— Nathan Warren5.0a month ago“All our fish and shrimp came very organized, all packaged individually with warmers and Styrofoam in the box, everyone's alive and getting accumulated now! Great company that we will now stick with for online ordering. Thank you Dan!”
— Samuel Rose5.0a month ago“I bought kissing rice fish, long fin white cloud mountain minnows, and sweet little cherry barb youngsters. all arrived healthy, beautiful, and all of them ate within 30 minutes of being put into their tank. the white clouds immediately hung out with the other white clouds, as did the cherry barbs. this is my first time having rice fish, they ate from the top, and I also put tiny sinking baby pellets in a bare bottom corner of the tank, (the rest of the tank has substrate and plants) and the rice fish along with all of the other fish were happy to eat right from the floor of the aquarium. lovely fish, lovely experience.”
— Sand Moirben5.0a month ago“I ordered; 2 m/f pairs of gold longing variatus platy 1/2 dozen unsexed Hawaiian variatus platy 2 trios of santa Maria endlers 1 m/f pair of double swordtail guppies. All arrived alive. 3 of the 4 endler females arrived pregnant with fry. The guppies had fry 24/36 hours later. Posting this 12 days later all thriving. Couldn't be more pleased. Highly recommend buying from Dan's Fish. Hope to purchase again before it gets too cold. My only regret is not doing an "unboxing video" they were packaged perfectly”
— Edward Brown5.03 months ago“Pictures can't do it justice, but the guppy pairs we ordered are GORGEOUS. Their vibrant colors and beautiful tails are mesmerizing. They arrived right on time and in perfect, healthy condition. I look forward to purchasing more!”
— Jessica5.04 months ago
Reference
Frequently asked questions
Note — Store information and services may change. Always call ahead to confirm current availability, hours, and services before visiting Dan's Fish.