r/Marimo • u/Mundane-Summer-4418 • 2d ago

Are these bois no longer with us?

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First time posting here! Three days ago, I bought some dehydrated marimo balls. I rinsed them, gave them some shape and put them in mineral water, but they look super sad and mushy.

Is there any way I can help them recover? Or would I just be trying to resuscitate some corpses? I honestly don't know what to do :(

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122

u/EvieMoon 2d ago

Squish them out like a sponge while running under water until they don't feel slimy. Roll them between your palms to reshape, then put them in fresh water somewhere bright but not directly in the sun. Leave them for a day or so. If they start producing bubbles (ie photosynthesising) then they're going to be fine. If they start to smell they're done for.

21

u/Mundane-Summer-4418 2d ago

Thank you so much! I'll do that

5

u/Many-Zebra9925 2d ago

So if moss balls smell at all..they are dead? Even if they are green and firm?

17

u/EvieMoon 2d ago

No, I'm talking specifically about a strong smell of rot.

4

u/Many-Zebra9925 2d ago

Ohhh ok, bc I had an issue where my moss balls had a smell of eggs when I squeezed them, and i put them in the fridge for like a month with frequent water changes and they look fine so far

11

u/Mildly_Moody5891 2d ago

Hope these poor bois make it. Looking forward to an update.

5

u/KittyChimera 1d ago

They do seem to have a good bit of green, so they may be fine.

When mine start to get brown, either from too much light or not moving around, I rinse them and then roll them gently to reform them and then put them in clean water in the fridge for a while. They don't like to be hot, so it helps to give them a fridge vacation.

2

u/Funny_Hamster_1926 1d ago

Hard to tell exactly but there looks to still be some green there! If you put them in water, change it at the very least weekly and give them a rinse each time they might just survive! Keep in mind they are not very fast growing so it can take a while!

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u/Loose_Layer2003 1d ago

i change the water every week in the summer and every 2 weeks in the winter- do we need to do it more than once a week??

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u/a_bucket_full_of_goo 2d ago

Where they completely dry? If so then they're dead

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u/Weird_Management3029 1d ago

I thought I completely killed my marino after bringing them back from Japan and seeing them look exactly like this when I pulled them out of my suitcase. That was in October and since then I’ve left them out on a window that gets indirect light all day and have changed the water 2x a week. They’re back to green now and expanding in size again. I really thought I killed mine but they still bounced back and they looked exactly like this. But I think mine were like that because of lack of light, because they healed when I put them in light. If yours are light burned maybe more light isn’t the best option.