My son just took on the responsibility of caring for fish. I know nothing about fish so I stopped in to Petland to get supplies. Obviously, I had no clue what I should get and so, as I moved from department to department, I talked to multiple employees who educated me on all things fish. Yes, their stuff was more expensive than stores like Walmart or Meijer, but for a newbie - it was worth it.
I wasn't sure what type of fish to get and one employee explained the differences between the multiple types of gold fish they had - some fish weren't fed as frequently as others, so they weren't as hardy. I would never have known that and I don't know how frequently Walmart feeds their goldfish! You get the point...
PROS: Knowledgeable employees, many pet and pet supply options
CONS: More expensive than non-specialty, "big box" stores