is it dead?..or how much abuse can cheato take

[ngreenaway]

so, i finally returned my rebuilt sump to service today after extended downtime. for lack of equipment, my cheato has been sitting in an unheated 40 gal tank with no flow. its been sitting like this under moderate light 24/7 for the past month or more. i found a hermit crab that had gotten caught up in it happily munching away at the bottom of the tank today, but when i pulled the cheato i noticed it broke into a lot of 3" strings rather than the long strands it was originally. otherwise it looks fine, just breaks apart into smaller pieces than i thought it should..

so, verdict? use it? toss it? is this stuff bulletproof, or is it likely dead?

 

[mfinn]

I'd use it. Until it starts to decay it should be ok.

 

[ngreenaway]

im assuming when it decays, its pretty obvious then? this stuff looks fine, just breaks up real easy..

 

[mfinn]

It may be not in the best shape, but I see no reason to toss it.

 

[ngreenaway]

excellent..thanx!

 

[N1Husker]

If you need some I have some in my sump I need to trim. Yours should recover once you get flow and heat back to it.