# Dying dwarf sag



## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

I got a bunch of dwarf sag from one of our fellow forum-ers here...they arrived nice and healthy, but it was a few days until I could plant them.

I threw them in a bucket with some water, put in a small amount of fertilizer for them, and left them there...completely forgot about them for about 3-4 days.

When I came back, most of the leaves had rotted away and the remaining green leaves are now "translucent" and not very healthy. The roots are still intact, but the "bulbous" areas are a little soft. If I plant them and keep fertilizing and start DIY CO2, will they survive and grow again, or should I just pluck them all out and toss them? I planted them in hopes of reviving them.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I was in a similar situation, where I didn't have time to plant, and just let them float in a bucket for a few days. This resulted in some dead and translucent plants. I salvaged what I could and replanted the greener plants, and some of the translucent pieces. 

One week later, the plants rebounded with new leaves sprouting and small runners emerging a few weeks later. Once it got settled, the plants grew profusely. Hopefully you'll have similar success. 

-John N.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I have done this many times myself  Life gets in the way of the hobby sometimes and we do what we need to do. In my experience, if the roots are still healthy (white and firm) the plant will rebound just fine. 

Last year, one of the SWOAPE members received some E. bolivianus from another hobbyist. It was probably too hot to ship that week and all of the leaves on the plants were totally gone by the time he received them. He was going to toss them out but I planted the root systems and within the week, had new growth sprouting. 

Just make sure to remove any dead or dying growth before planting and you should be fine. The translucent leaves may be due to a lack of iron (depending on the ambient light that made it's way into the bucker) or they may just be dying. Never hurts to plant the roots and give the plant a chance


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

Nick,
Another thing that can help is to float the plants. They seem to like that in most cases.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

You're right!

The roots (only roots, all the leaves were melted off at this point) were starting to get soggy on me. Yanked them outta my nano tank, tossed them into my 10 gallon with intense lighting and DIY CO2. A few days later, new tiny leaves from the dying roots. =) They're about 1-2mm long, but the leaves are nice and green. Yay.


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## Blacksunshine (Aug 11, 2006)

Its amazing how plants can bounce back. Glad you got yours to. 

I had been shipped a package once that USPS lost for a week. when I got them they were all but dead. Most people would have just tossed them. But I figured hell it cant hurt to give them a chance. tossed them in one of the tanks floating for a couple days and what do you know. they all bounced back and new life started commin out. 
So long as there is a little green on a leaf or life in a root. You have a chance.
Glad you didn't give up on um.


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