petsmart, whitehall.

address: 2180 macarthur rd., whitehall pa 18052.
website: www.petsmart.com
phone: (610)437-7197
hours: m-s: 0900-2100, sun: 1000-1800.

selection, 6/10:
generally speaking petsmart has a better selection than their rivals, petco. but it is still cookie-cutter across all locations pretty much. in addition to the "starter cichlids" like firemouths, convicts, jack dempseys, oscars, parrots, etc. petsmart actually has their africans seperated. they also typically carry knifefish, red devils and pacus. sometimes even jags. as of this writing my most recent fish purchase was here, a jewel, a brown african knife and two giant danios (which, surprisingly are living in harmony with my pair of adult convicts).

health, 7/10:
i've made a handful of purchases here over the years and haven't had any notable problems.

staff, 7/10:
petsmart staff is less aggressive and generally more knowledgable than petco. they'll ask if you need help after you've been looking for a little while which is exactly how customer service should be. if you're buying a questionable combination of fish they will advise you of this but will not pursue it once you've justified your rationale (i.e.; they're not going in the same tank).

prices, 6/10:
get a member card, which is free. their special prices for members are good. their normal prices, not so much.

overall, 26/40:
there's no changing the fact that i hate corporate stores, but there's no avoiding them in some instances. well, there is...nobody forces me to buy corporate fish. but nevertheless, they're part of the hobby now. given similar selection and prices i'd choose a private store over a corporation, but given the choice between corporations i'd choose petsmart over petco, and whitehall is one of the finer petsmarts i've been to.