Can this bulb be saved?

[Rosario]

Hey everyone, I have some experience with bulbed plants. It's been about three weeks. No sprouting. I let it sit on top of my substrate. I turned it after a week. What did I do wrong? I followed the directions, but how do I know if it really is a dud bulb? Should I keep trying? Should I clean the fluff off?

As of today I took it out of my tank and it's in some water from the tank. It does smell, but it wasn't squishy. 

[Guppysnail]

If it smells it is not to long until it will turn squishy in my experience. Sadly I had this happen with some I bought in a package at the big box store soI understand the staring at it wondering. I’m not sure there is a definitive way to tell prior to squishy-ness. 

[Rosario]

Thanks for the advise. I really like this plant with bettas. Especially with male bettas, the bubble nests are so cool to see when they feel like making one I have two tiger lilies taking off in my 10 gallon but I wanted to keep my established 5 gallon for another betta or maybe a dwarf gourami. 

 

[CKetchum]

Sometimes bulbs are just duds, I would try again with a new bulb. 

[Odd Duck]

You can try rinsing it off in some fresh water (tap water is fine for plants), then change out the water in your jar.  Sometimes just the outer layers get rotten and rinsing helps.  Give it a little more time.  Doesn’t sound great, but it’s worth it to keep trying until the point where it gets mushy.