Locking a thread?

[FishkeeperLinz]

If you can't handle constructive criticism, don't take up writing. . And if you do, stay well away from the writing forums and workshops.

Here it is: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/betta-care-sheet.452390/

As you can see, I just wanted to make a very simple betta care sheet. Then another member corrected me with this super complicated “care sheet”. Other members agreed with him and it just went downhill from there. It all ended in a moderator locking the thread.

As an outsider, who wasn't even on this forum when you posted that care sheet, I believe the problem is, it's too simple and focuses on some things that IMHO, aren't important enough to even be mentioned, such as the substrate. I was surprised when it ended where it did, because it stopped just when the serious stuff should begin. New members, considering a Betta Splendens as a fishy pet, need to know the sorts of things that Colin posted - the things that really should have been in the OP.

I do agree that sponge filters are best for Bettas, and that any other filter has to be gentle enough that it doesn't pull the fish in. So you got that right. I don't know enough about plants to comment on those, because I just sort of chuck them in and hope for the best.

I can see why you were bummed about the way the thread went. Criticism - even constructive criticism - can be hard to stomach. My advice? Take it on the chin and learn from it.

View that care sheet as a learning experience and make the next one even better. Consider what's important for the plant to thrive, and leave out anything that doesn't enrich it. That's where substrate could become important.

 

[seangee]

From Websters

Definition of forum

1a : the marketplace or public place of an ancient Roman city forming the center of judicial and public business
b : a public meeting place for open discussion The club provides a forum for people interested in local history.
c : a medium (such as a newspaper or online service) of open discussion or expression of ideas

If open discussion is not what you want then a forum is the wrong place to be posting.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I just wanted to make a SUPER simple care sheet.

Nothing to fancy. I actually just wanted to help some beginners.

 

[FishkeeperLinz]

I just wanted to make a SUPER simple care sheet.

Nothing to fancy. I actually just wanted to help some beginners.

Ok, let's turn this around. Let's pretend, for a moment, that I was the one who wrote that care sheet and you were a new beginner who didn't know the slightest thing about Bettas. What would you learn from my care sheet?

You'd learn that tank sizes up to 20gal were fine (actually, that's another thing you got right. It made a change to see a care sheet that doesn't say "no more than 10gal), that you need a filter (sponges are best), heater (3-5w per gallon) and that the one I recommend keeps the temperature at 78°. You'd learn about gravel or sand, and that some hoods come with LED lights built into them, but lights aren't important. You'd learn the names of some plants.

Basically, you'd learn that Betta Splendens needs a tank, hood, heater, filter, lights, substrate and plants. And the chances are, if you were reading my care sheet, you'd already have all of them. With the possible exception of plants.

This isn't a personal attack @PheonixKingZ, although I appreciate that it feels like it is. It's beginners who need to learn the most, and therefore caresheet aimed at beginners should be in depth. @Colin_T wasn't personally attacking you or your care sheet. If I'd come across that last year, I'd have pulled you up on it too, although I'd have done so in the form of questions, such as "and what about pH and water chemistry? What about the temperature ranges? What about. . .?"

Like I said in my post above, see it as a learning outcome. When doing future care sheets, put yourself in the mind of a beginner, and write down the things you, as a beginner, wish you'd known.

And don't let one bad experience put you off.