Hi..here is a picture of my rat tail... yes it has brown spots and has gotten very thin and dryed and brown in places..I hope you can see in my picture....what is wrong with my cactus??? and how can I help it..I very nice member here sent me the cuttings and I really don't want to loose it, I looked for a long time to get it...and she did send me another one but I lost that one....:(..... any help would be great....linda

It does look wet...did you check below the surface? I have used coir few times, but not more than 10% of the mix. Bark is good for many plants, but for succulents it shouldn't be much either - max 1/3rd of the mix (I actually do not use it at all). Epiphytic cacti are exemption. If in water retaining soil, the cacti will slowly decline. Sharp drainage and good light are cacti friends.

Alex tbh it's hard to tell. My rat tail has thinner tails;). Your cactus has some similarities to the golden rat tail. You will know once it blooms for you they have beautiful flowers like most cactus.

Top is a Cleistocactus winteri crest aka Golden Rat Tail cactus. These don’t need to be grafted and can survive on their own:). Just slice the top off with a clean very sharp knife. Let callus for a week or two and then set on top of some fast draining mix. No water or harsh sun till roots. Roots can take a month plus so be patient. When there are roots you can begin to water and acclimate to more sun slowly:).