Will my Anacharis survive?

[NickD]

My new Anacharis stems have all brown/gray leaves; very little green to them. Are these likely to survive or should I just yank them out now before they all start melting?

Here's the back story:
I got a bunch of Anacharis stems in the mail last week from a fellow forum member. When I received the package it had been sitting in my mailbox for half a day and it smelled very, very nasty. I soaked all the stems in cool tap water, removed the bad stuff, snails, etc. Kept the stems which looked in good shape and let them float in my tank until the weekend when I could work on planting them. Yesterday as I went to plant them I noticed some of the stems had melted away, removed the melted parts and planted the rest. But all the leaves have lost their green and are now a light brown/gray. Most of the stems do have roots. Doesn't look very attractive at the moment.

My substrate is Fluorite sand and Fluorite gravel.

The person who sent them to me is in no way to blame for the condition of the plants. He had them in a plastic bag with wet paper towels and he sent them via USPS Priority mail. There just was no one home the day they were delivered and hence they stayed in the mailbox until I got home that evening.

So are these things likely to survive or should I pull them now before they all melt away and make a mess of the tank?

 

[ebola]

I had anacharis in my tank for a few days when my AC was out. Water temp was 87 degrees for about four days, and the top two or three inches of each plant turned brown and started dissolving. But since I got the temp lowered, they recovered nicely. I'd say give it a few days.

 

[H3D]

Pics would help.

 

[Notophthalmus]

I would try placing them in a rubbermaid tub or similar out in the sunlight for a few days; if they recover, great, if they don't, at least you won't have a mess in your tank. Anacharis is pretty tough, so it may very well recover.

 

[NickD]

Pics would help.

I'll see if I can get one this evening.

I would try placing them in a rubbermaid tub or similar out in the sunlight for a few days;

Not sure that's a good idea at the moment due to the heatwave. Our high temp today is supposed to be up to 100F. Tomorrow will be about the same. In a couple of days the high will drop to about 90F.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

leave them floating and until its all brown dont toss it.

 

[midiamin]

I'll see if I can get one this evening.



Not sure that's a good idea at the moment due to the heatwave. Our high temp today is supposed to be up to 100F. Tomorrow will be about the same. In a couple of days the high will drop to about 90F.

Heat not a problem. sun will dry them out if you don't fully submerge them. they should be fine and continue to put out new leaves and stem if given time. you can cut of the death stuff after you see new growth.

 

[Ulan]

Yup, don't plant them. Most of the time, they don't stay planted, anyway.

 

[NickD]

Thanks for all the tips. Since I had already plated them before posting my question, I think I'll try leaving them there for now. I didn't have time to pull them out yesterday. Some of them are showing some green so maybe they'll pull through.

How tall do these plants typically get? I'm trying to achieve a forest look in the background.

 

[Ulan]

They grow endlessly. Usually, they rot below ground and will swim up, so you will have to replant them, if you want to. You can easily break them into pieces.