Data is included for three sets of laboratory experiments where various fish species were tested in several multi-week trials to determine their suitability in serving as parasitic hosts for larvae of the freshwater mussel named dwarf wedgemussel (Alasmidonta heterodon) from the Mid-Atlantic region and New England of the United States. The first set of experiments tested host suitability of multiple fish species, the second compared host suitability of groups of tessellated darters (Etheostoma olmstedi; a known host) from multiple locations, and the third tested host suitability of individual tessellated darters. Results are reported in numbers of juvenile mussels per fish (JPF; total juvenile mussels produced by each fish tested) and metamorphosis success (MS; proportion of larvae that attached to fish and successfully metamorphosed into juvenile mussels). Data is associated with a manuscript entitled "Geographic variation in host fish use and larval metamorphosis for the endangered dwarf wedgemussel".