Uncle Ned's Fish Factory

Fantastic experience: It's been some time since I've been here, but I've always remembered it. Great store with really cool beautiful kept animals. The owners were very nice willing to email if I had questions. Wish them all the best

Fantastic experience: I love this place! Tons of healthy cool fish. They are so knowledgeable and helpful, especially if you’re having any tank/water issues. I brought in some water to be tested and their advice on how to fix it was really a fish life saver! Definitely recommend if you have/want to get into fish, it is sooo much better than the chain pet stores!

Fantastic experience: This place has everything you need. owners are extremely knowledgeable and happy to help. They will test your water for free if you bring them a sample.

Negative experience: Update: Warning for koi buyers. After weeks of consistent losses, it's been 30 days since I bought 5 koi there, and treating for parasites with formalin, malachite green and praziquantel, it's not parasites. It's Carp Edema Virus aka Sleepy koi sickness. Which means there is no cure other than increasing the salinity to 0.5 percent which I've done, and a 90 percent mortality rate. Their gills are having green mucus and no signs of parasites such as flukes. No ulcers or other signs of disease. I also have goldfish and other small fish which none of them have died. Water quality is perfect. No Ammonia etc. Which means their system has carrier fish with the virus. The only "cure" is to kill every koi and start over. I'd upload photos but nobody wants to see a hundred dead fish. I'll probably have continuous deaths for the rest of the year until most of them die and I'll have to kill the rest and start over next year. Literally the worst case scenario. Original post: Really disappointed cause inside the fish are fine and seem well taken care of. Unfortunately I went against my better judgement and bought koi there. I asked the staff to look at them before I bought them cause I saw what I thought were little white dots. The guy really seems knowledgeable. They assured me it wasn't ich. Well several weeks later I've had a massive die off probably 30 by now, a couple every day I'll find a new one. I have a 10k gallon pond system that is until now great. All but two that I bought there have died, with lots of my koi having white dots and being lethargic. Never again. Treating the whole pond now with anti parasitic drugs and hopefully it will recover. They need to keep a low dose of copper or something similar in their koi system. I understand that they get many orders but they need to be more proactive. Probably lost 300 bucks worth of koi. I've never had a single issue until I bought those.

Fantastic experience: A really amazing place to get fish, pond supplies, and excellent advice. I have a large pond with lots of goldfish, and this spring I started seeing 4 to 5 dead each day from some kind of disease or fungus. Dan and Ned were super helpful, tested the water for me and recommended a course of treatment for the pond that did not require me to drain the pond or move the fish. Their recommendation worked incredibly well, and within a week the fish had stopped dying. The pond is now healthy, and thriving, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Ned and Dan for their advice and help.

Fantastic experience: Wow, what a place! I had an issue with some aquarium hardware that I did not buy from Uncle Ned's Fish Factory. The manufacturer suggested going to an authorized dealer to diagnose the issue. I spoke to the owner, and he was helpful, understanding and extremely generous with his time and expertise! They have lots of cool fish species available for sale, and the customer service is top shelf! Thank you, guys!

Fantastic experience: Are you sick of corporate giants who sell fish as if they were widgets? Talk to fish enthusiasts who know their breeders. Who stock a large variety of interesting species. As well as all your favorites. Hidden gem. With a yummy Roast Beef place across the street. If you know, it's worth the trip.

Fantastic experience: Super nice and helpful! The fish tanks are clean and so cool to just check out! I got a beta! Absolutely gorgeous

Fantastic experience: Lots of selection for fish and very knowledgeable staff

Fantastic experience: A breath of fresh air for an old school hobbyist. Awesome place!

Negative experience: Unfortunately, Uncle Neds is in a slump. Lots of sickly or malnourished fish. Low stock in general. Dirty glass and tanks everywhere. Lots of tanks dismantled. Not the Neds I've been accustomed to seeing for the past decade.

Negative experience: Employee recommended an off label use for a product to treat algae in my tank (a plant supplement). Needless to say it did not work. They insisted I keep trying it, without any evidence or reason to think it would work. I decided not to keep putting chemicals in my fish tank that they didn’t need. They would not let me exchange or issue store credit. I try to help support a small business, and this is what happens. This is why people buy online now. Sad.

Fantastic experience: Wow, what a great experience! All the staff was so friendly and knowledgeable. Nice variety of fish and everything you need for them and their aquariums!

Fantastic experience: Always has the Rare Cichlids your looking for

Fantastic experience: Really nice shop, tanks are clean and fish appear to be in good health. There are supplies for freshwater aquarists of all different levels of experience, a good selection of fish, invertebrates, and plants, and the staff are knowledgeable enough to help experienced aquarists but friendly to newcomers to the hobby. We'll be back!

Fantastic experience: I bought a gorgeous used 72 gallon bow front aquarium here. The price was way more than reasonable for such a nice tank. I buy most of my cichlids at Uncle Neds. They are always healthy and beautiful with a very large selection..

Fantastic experience: I’m creating a project for my students to growing terrestrial plants with their fish tanks. This place was wonderful. I had so many of my questions answered and was offered many great ideas. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone getting interested in the hobby.

Fantastic experience: My absolute go to for fish & supplies. I end up going almost every week or two to check out the fish. They always have an amazing stock and are all around great people. I have an awesome tanganyikan shell dweller tanks thanks to Uncle Neds. One of those small businesses that are awesome to have around.

Fantastic experience: There’s a reason they’ve been in business for a long time. I was installing a pond and had to reroute the waterfall hose and needed a 3 ft piece, this was on a Friday afternoon at 4:30. I contacted Uncle Ned’s looking for 2 inch pipe and he said I don’t have a full roll in stock but I have 2 pieces 3&7 feet. I knew they closed at 5:00 and with Friday traffic I’d probably have to wait till Saturday morning. I was told no problem I’ll wait if you’re going to be late just call me. I was on time and was able to get pipe and my project was saved and back on schedule. A big thank you to Uncle Ned’s and staff. Sincerely, Len Gosselin

Fantastic experience: Best fish store in ma in my opinion blows tropic aisle out of the water even when they are low on stock

Fantastic experience: Always a pleasure coming into Uncle Ned’s! They’re very knowledgeable and you can tell they’re passionate about the hat they do. They stock everything you need to get started or maintain your aquarium. I’ve added 2 frogs, plants, snails, keep adding a variety of freshwater fish to my tank from their selection. Everytime I’ve left happy and look forward to coming back, even if it’s a 30 minute drive each time I go. I highly recommend Uncle Ned’s over other local fish stores.

Positive experience: One of those better fish store then rest here in MA. Everything looks healthy except prices seems higher than other places. You can get some unique fish here that no other aquatic stores has in Massachusetts.

Fantastic experience: Huge selection of healthy fish, Ned really knows his stuff!

Fantastic experience: Interesting bunch, they have what you need 95 o/o of the time at a fair price.

Fantastic experience: This place is a staple in the fishkeeping community. Very knowledgeable and helpful staff, they're always available without feeling overbearing or pushy. They always have a large variety of fish and supplies on hand, and are helpful with ordering or finding anything they don't have. Even if you aren't a fish keeper this place is worth a visit, it's like going to a mini aquarium!

Fantastic experience: This place is off the hook. Amazing! . Dan (Ned’s brother) is extremely knowledgeable. And generous with his help/advice. I don’t know why anyone would go anywhere else.

Fantastic experience: When I go to chain pet stores like Petsmart I often see sick looking fish lying on bottom of the tank and they often die shortly after brining then home…well this never happens with Uncle Ned’s, the fish are healthy, lively and well taken care of, plus the owners have been in the business for years. I only go here when I “fish shop!”

Fantastic experience: This place is great. Really helped me out and took 4 goldfish off of my hands. Biggest selection of Pleckos that I've seen around here. Guy with hat was happy to help us and really seemed to enjoy working with fish. Will recommend

Fantastic experience: Awesome selection of fish and knowledgeable staff

Fantastic experience: Impressive selection of healthy tropical fish, planted tank supplies and shrimp housed in a utilitarian shop. Prices were very reasonable. I purchased a dozen smaller fish for stocking a cycled tank and have had zero loss after a month, which is better than I usually do on big box store purchases. Worth the trip!

Fantastic experience: Knowledgeable staff and well taken care of fish, highly recommended for your aquarium needs.

Positive experience: Amazing place! I used to by yucky fish from PetCo but now I buy EVERYTHING from here! Good selection of fish, but you might wanna train your young employees better cause they don’t really pay attention.

Fantastic experience: A lot of fresh water fishes and plants, my kids love to go here to see those fishes

Fantastic experience: Great selection. Helpful and knowledgeable staff . High quality fish

Positive experience: Nice directory of cichlids, but the ones I bought were infested with ich but it’s mostly treated now

Fantastic experience: The best fish store in New England

Fantastic experience: Has to be one of the best resources for fish owners in the United States. Enormously experienced owners with an incredible variety of fish on display to buy and learn about.

Negative experience: The owner of the place is very nice but people or I don’t know if they’re his son or something they are far far far from nice and rude every time I go there , but I can tell by the body language because every time someone else going in they , treat them like a regular human being, but this will be my last time going there. I should not recommend anybody going to customer service bad because all I was trying to do is get food for my fish and I stayed at the register for like good time but we all know I think they just don’t like me but it doesn’t matter who you are you should not treat anybody that way and I drove from all the way to Pawtucket

Fantastic experience: Good variety of fish and knowledgeable staff. Mostly freshwater. Prices are lower than most places around.

Fantastic experience: I was so excited to find this place is open koi pons outside beautiful displays of fish inside from small to big versions of fish. Did you see in pet stores healthy fish, beautiful assortment I was like a kid in a candy shop driftwood for tanks. Good customer service my children enjoyed it as well, very busy but I can see why owners of the shop with Gentle Educational and patient one of the best experience I’ve had in a hole will never go to another pet shop for fish family owned and they still love what they do after over 30 years of experience passed on a great experience for me and my kids so happy with the fish that I purchased they are so beautiful and selected care and thoughtfulness to what would work better in a community tank how to add. Fish even was given a special bag of food made on site. Can’t say enough wow about this place. Reasonable prices

Positive experience: I love the koi and gold fish ponds and plants. It's not the cleanest or the cheapest store in the world but once you get past that it's a great store.

Fantastic experience: Great selection of plants some of the best prices

Fantastic experience: One of the best LFS in the area. My go-to place since the past 6 years. Although a little pricey, their fish are healthy and they stock a huge variety. Everyone in the store are very helpful including Ned and his energetic brother!

Fantastic experience: Picked up 8 neon tetras and 3 ember tetras the other day. One poor little neon was DOA when I got home, guess the stress was too much. The other 10 fish are doing great - very robust and active, and not really very shy. They're all in a quarantine tank for a brief stay, then into the 20L with a few other embers and a platy. I can't wait to see if the store will get more embers in a couple weeks, and may also pick up a few more neons if still available. The store has alot of very interesting and unusual fish, lots and lots of gorgeous cichlids (makes me want to set up a shellie tank), and pretty goldfish. Their koi are beautiful, and now I want a pond! Were those mollies in with the koi? They also had lovely cardinal tetras and other tetra species.

Fantastic experience: Best experience I've ever had at a fish store hands down, the staff there are very knowledgeable and eager to help with whatever you may need. Even though this store is over an hour away from me I will be going back every time I need something! Awesome selection of freshwater fish and plants.

Fantastic experience: Great product, knowledgeable and friendly staff; Ned's has been an institution since I was a tadpole.

Fantastic experience: This place is awesome and very helpful if you keep fish.

Fantastic experience: My dad's day was made when we walked into this shop. Well maintained, stocked and run. I have never seen so many axolotls!!

Fantastic experience: It's harder to find true fish stores. Ned's doesn't disappoint. I drive over an hour to get there. Well worth the effort.

Fantastic experience: The guys were helpful and didn't hassle me about what fishes I could buy

Fantastic experience: Great selection of oddball fish that can’t be found in elsewhere in MA, and prices are very reasonable compared to some other well known aquarium stores in the state. Staff are also friendly and proactive in ensuring that you have been assisted. Overall highly recommended for aquarium enthusiasts.

Fantastic experience: We will only buy our fish from here. They are also the people we call for guidance on the rare occasion that our fish get sick. They are very knowledgable and make sure that our fish will all get along.

Fantastic experience: Lots of beautiful Japanese koi, healthy tropical fish snails plecos and very helpful kind people. Got some plants sponge filter and gravel!

Positive experience: This is the place to go if you like to get healthy fish and plants along with every other supply you need. The employees are very helpful and knowledgeable and can be trusted to give good advice. If you live near or far, go there to get what you need.

Fantastic experience: Knowledgeable and friendly staff huge selection of freshwater tropical fish they do Koi ponds as well everything you need is at Neds fish factory

Fantastic experience: Kind of busy. Knowledgeable staff and most important healthy fish. Best independent aquatics store around imo still

Fantastic experience: While the building is not flashy, the animals are cared for very well and the staff is very knowledgeable. I'll take those traits over flashy any day!

Fantastic experience: Great location! Nice selection of fish!

Fantastic experience: Employees extremely helpful, very healthy fish, and good prices.

Fantastic experience: I stopped in on a whim to buy a few Koi for my pond, his fish were well cared for, healthy and reasonably priced. I ended up buying one large, beautiful Butterfly Koi as it was a great price for the size and coloring (the one on the left), I also bought some pond plants that are thriving in my pond. Most places over charge for Koi and their plants die after a week or so. I highly recommend Uncle Ned's for your outdoor Koi pond needs. I'll be going again!

Positive experience: The best thing about this place is the passion of the staff. They are unfailingly giving with their knowledge, experience and time. We have two happy betta girls (separate tanks) and a tiny horde of delightfully weird guppy boys in a fraternity tank who are all happy & healthy fish kids thanks to them!

Fantastic experience: The price here is amazing!! Everything is so healthy and fresh as well. I'm new to this hobby and was looking for a lot of plants for my new aquariums. This place has the cheapest price for plants compared to anywhere nearby! This can make a huge difference when you're getting a bunch. Great store that has the "local fish store"vibe. People there are super nice, and there's a vast collection of fish. I needed a lot of ramshorn snails to breed for feeding, and they had really pretty colored ones! pink, blue, brown and gold. some leopards? I'm so happy how my tanks ended up looking... photos are just some of my happy tanks and plants :) Most if not all of those plants are from them!

Positive experience: I've gone to Ned's Fish Factory since I was a child. They always have a great selection of fish and aquatic plants. Not reading the sign, I walked into the store today without ringing the covid intercom. I was approached by the employees and quickly, but friendly, escorted out of the store. The employees were very knowledgeable and helpful.

Fantastic experience: Amazing selection of fish, some I’ve honestly only seen available from online retailers across the country. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area - though it is a bit ‘crowded’ in some areas.

Fantastic experience: I had an absolute crisis with my tank and almost lost all my fish. The help I got here was both non judgmental and informative. It saved the majority of my animals and taught me a lesson. If you can think of it they probably have it in stock. I came right back here and got enough affordable plants to turn my tank into a jungle. The animals are healthy. The staff is great. The prices are reasonable. Whether you're just starting or looking for a cool place to help you continue your established hobby this place is it.

Positive experience: Was looking for some Socolofi cichlids regular and albino but couldn’t seem to find any. Decent selection of fish overall. Looking for some of the more rare African cichlids. Not too many elongatus species to choose from when I went.

Positive experience: Would be giving a 5 star review if it weren’t for the last few times I’ve come in, they never have electric yellow labs in stock besides large ones or just a couple not very good specimens. I’ve been in the past and they had great stock of that fish, which is supposedly very common one of the employees told me a few weeks back. But I’ve come in early recently and still nothing much at all. Hoping they’ll be more soon or I’ll have to start looking elsewhere. I have gotten some great fish from them before. Edit: I checked it out again and did find some good yellow labs this time they were excellent. Also I do appreciate the owners response. Looking for a Red Empress cichlid and some Red Zebras now. Also haven’t seen any cobalt zebras for a bit. They’re a beautiful fish too.

Fantastic experience: This is my new goto place for shrimps. I use to just go to Petco in Natick cause they are close to me but I am so glad I made the extra 15 minute drive. The staff are super friendly, I walk in, first thing I get was a team of folks greeting me, compared going to a big box chain store, you can't even find someone to help you. I like it how there is a lot of varieties and options. And, I am so sorry to not ask for the staff's name that helped me, she was so helpful and she went beyond and explained to me which shrimp if breed together will make babies that will be "wild" type. I learned so much just by that brief interaction. And then when she was bagging the shrimps, she took great care and taped the pointy ends so the bag itself won't squish the tiny shrimps, you just don't get that from big box stores. We did have a mishap, totally not her fault, where an Amano shrimp decided to jump out of the net and landed on the floor in a puddle of water, but she was nice enough to ask if I wanted another one. I didn't mind the feistiness of that particular one. I am sure if it was Petco, they would just go, "whatever!". Hopefully my shrimps survives, but if I need to get more, I will sure visit again.

Fantastic experience: Saff is phenomenal and so informative. Great quality and variety! Worth the drive!

Fantastic experience: Our Betta fish was not doing well and I needed a non big box store guidance. Our drive to Ned's was well worth it. I predicted it was basically a barn...and it was...but Ryan and Ned himself were awesome. They gave me and my child a lot of respect and suggestions for having only one fish. The fish is doing swimmingly well LOL. great place

Fantastic experience: Knowledgeable and patient folks reasonable prices for healthy fish.

Fantastic experience: I'm new to aquascaping and have to check out fish supply stores. This store has all your aquarium needs! Not to mention a plethora of fish and aquatic creatures to choose from! You'll want to come back multiple times I'm sure of it! Way to go Ned!

Fantastic experience: I was calling all over town looking for fish emulsion, and these guys didn't have it either, but the lady on the phone today, Tue 9/21 around 2:10 (regrettably I didn't catch her name) was the most helpful person I talked to all day. Crazy awesome customer service. When we set up our aquaculture garden properly in the next week, these are officially our go-to guys! Great candor, good prices, very knowledgeable. Best service anywhere in S. Mass, I daresay. Wish they had safe & organic plant foods as well as non-food-grade, but we'll just make them ourselves since they are apparently scarce in these parts.

Fantastic experience: A bit far from me but definitely worth the drive. Great selection and knowledgeable staff

Fantastic experience: The knowledge and experience the staff have in this store can’t be beat. Very honest about the fish they’re selling too and will be upfront if it’s not a good match for your tank setup. The fish they have are amazing quality and they have some real rare gems too.

Fantastic experience: We've been getting fish, supplies, and expert assistance here since 1999. A true Boston-area institution and treasure, especially for those passionate about cichlids or koi.

Fantastic experience: My wife and I finally made it there! Fantastic place!! Informative nice workers!! It is now my go to for fish and plants and supplies!! Well worth the 40 minute drive!!

Fantastic experience: I cannot recommend this store highly enough. Elena is incredibly knowledgeable about these fish and Ryan, her protege, is an excellent resource as well. I often get conflicting advice from fish stores, but the staff at Ned's has proven far and away the most reliable. Although it's a full hour from my home, I won't be shopping anywhere else for the foreseeable future.

Fantastic experience: Probably my favorite place to go for those out of the ordinary species. They have TONS of different African lake species, my favorite being tanganyika (they have beautiful Julidochromis varieties and from what ive seen a regular stream of neolamprolongus) i also managed to find more peacock gudgeons to add to my favorite singular fishes school! One of the VERY few stores i know that carry sponge filters in house as well. The team is very friendly and the older employees are VERY knowledgeable. Definitely recommend them!

Fantastic experience: We drove here from Boston and it’s so worth the drive ! Great selection of driftwood, rocks and plants which is what I came for. I’m new to aquascaping so I came looking for a store that could guide me, and can positively say that this was the aquarium store for it, the staff were extremely helpful and kind, and offered their email for any more questions I may have along the road. Coming back soon to buy some fish and shrimp, as I didn’t see one fish that was stressed or unhealthy.

Negative experience: EDIT: they had given me fish with several different illnesses and I refunded all my fish. Lady gave me a hard time like it was my fault for getting them sick when I had a brand new tank. Will not purchase from them again I had called back and forth with Uncle Ned’s and emailed them prior to purchasing my 6 goldfish. They are very knowledgeable and we’re super helpful. But they had sold me a fish that was Ill. I’m not sure if it was on accident because he was fine coming home but later developed symptoms. I later found out that they had other fish with similar issues. I’m giving the benefit of the doubt that they just thought he was well. But they were more than happy to exchange him for me. Overall a positive experience and I would still purchase from them in the future.

Positive experience: Great customer service and great prices on fish. The dry goods are twice the cost of anywhere else though.

Fantastic experience: They helped me start my first tank for cheap, 2 years later the tank is thriving and I’ve come back here for all of my fish and questions, awesome friendly staff and great selection of fish!

Negative experience: Upon driving an hour to get to this place, I came to find out that they were not allowing people inside. After calling 3 times they answered the phone and we decided they were going to send me a few blurry pictures of the fish that they had in stock.... I just drove away and probably won't ever go back.

Fantastic experience: Love this place got all my malawi cichlids there. They have a wide variety and owners are very knowledgeable.

Fantastic experience: Amazing! Professional knowledgeable staff, great selection of aquatic plants, fish, etc. Safe! COVID precautions. Definitely check this place out!

Fantastic experience: If you are looking for Cichlids or community fish this is the only place to go!

Fantastic experience: Always knowledgeable, great selection, and reasonable prices. Worth driving to see ! Expert advice will almost guarantee aquarium success!

Fantastic experience: A true aquarium shop, which is rare these days. Almost always a good selection of fishes from South America, Africa, and Asia, especially cichlids. Koi & goldfish too. Very knowledgeable hobbyist staff.

Fantastic experience: This place is awesome! Very knowledgeable, excellent variety for fish and plants (many things i thought I'd have to special order). Someone even spent over an hour just talking aquarium theory with me! Uncle Ned even gave my 4 year old some food to entertain her by feeding the koi. I know I'm going back!

Fantastic experience: Nicest staff, well kept fish, large selection and reasonable pricing.

Fantastic experience: Great place to go for your aquarium needs. Lots of choices of fish, plants and supplies. Friendly, helpful, knowledgeable staff.

Fantastic experience: My family travels from Rhode Island to buy our fish from Uncle Ned's. It is the ONLY place we have purchased fish from that didn't end up with the Ick or other fish diseases. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I highly recommend Uncle Ned's for both beginners and fish enthusiasts.

Fantastic experience: Great shop with helpful staff. Tons of fish to select from as well as plants and other supplies.

Fantastic experience: COVID-19 CALL BEFORE ENTERING STORE. They're limiting customers because of space. I walked in knowing I wanted a fish. The lady helping me was Extremely helpful in determining what would work for the tanks I had. Very knowledgeable! I would highly recommend if you are looking for anything from common to unique fish.

Fantastic experience: The owners are really nice and knowledgeable about anything aquarium related. They go out of their way to make your experience great

Negative experience: The owner was very rude, the day I was there. Keep rushing me to buy something or simply asked me to leave. I tried ask him a few questions, and it seems like he was getting more and more aggravated. So I simply just left. Not a best experience, that day..

Positive experience: Healthiest fish I've ever seen! Informed staff and a huge selection of rare and exotic fish. Prices a little high...

Fantastic experience: Ned is a trip. But the young lady is a breath of fresh air. It should be grumpy neds

Fantastic experience: The best aquarium fish store, and the most exciting, with many varieties of nano fish, that you can not find in LFS, i.e. Petco or PetSmart. The staff is the best, very helpful and smart about the hobby.