This is probably a difficult question to answer but my little marimo, Mochi, was a patchy brown when I got him. I figured he just wasn't getting enough light (or anything, rlly) at the Petsmart I bought him from. I have 2 questions: 1) about how long does it take for their brown spots to turn green again? 2) he isn't gray but he does smell kinda fishy, so should I be worrying about internal rotting?
1. How long does it take for brown spots to turn green again? It usually depends on the marimo and the conditions you put it in. Frequent cleaning and other proper care techniques should get him back to normal pretty quick.
2. Weird fishy smell?Unless the smell is unbearable, it should be alright for now. A rotting marimo smells very bad and you can usually smell it not far away from the container you are keeping it in. If the marimo was in a tank with other fish friend it’s entirely possible that it may have obtained the smell from them. Changing water and cleaning should get him back to his normal marimo self in no time. Marimo do tend to have a strange natural odor to them as well. If you are suspecting rotting and want to double check, lightly try to tear or split apart your marimo to look inside. Green means clean! :)
-Mod Jo
