They appear to be sitting in a puddle of root gel, correct?

I would think that is the problem...or a good portion of it.
Clones get their water up-take from the leaves until they form roots, so you must mist, and initially keep the vents closed until they start to form roots.
Clones should be dipped in gel, but I don't think they should be swimming in it. That gel looks rather thick, in which case it is keeping air from getting to the future root sites. Sopping wet rockwool would do this to as - again - not allowing any oxygen to the area. Hence the stem is rotting.

yes the hole is filled of gel and on the steam, damnit. on all of them.

Turns out was the gel Juicy root after all, I did an experiment and did one clone with powder and one with small about of gel in the rockwell. and as usual the gel clone was falling over but the powdered clone has been standing strait up with no drooping . Pic is the WW done in powder, Now in hopes of saving my clones I recut all brown stems off and re did them in powder. Not sure if it will work but wasn’t working with the gel and would have died anyways. Otherwise im waiting two weeks cause i don’t have anymore clones on my mothers.

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