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FW Slime mold? FW Amoeba?

Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 12:22 pm
by J-P
At first what I thought were water drops on the outside of the tank, I quickly found were on the inside of the tank. After looking gloser and asking some algae experts, apparently what I have is FW amoeba growing on the side of my tank. (Thanks to HeyPK at APC for the ID)

I am pretty sure it is from over feeding (of course), but would like to learn a little more about it. If it is harmless for the fish and I can keep it under control, I don't mind having it there as part of the mini system. If it is harmful, then yes, I'll remove it / them.

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/slime1.htm

It is similar to the second set of pictures but not nearly as bad as that.
algae2.jpg
The little brown dots you see are little bugs on the glass. I haven't had a chance to get a good shot of them yet.

Of note, this is the only tank they appear in. Also it is the only tank that I am feeding a different brand of food. All other tanks get the exact same foods.

Re: FW Slime mold? FW Amoeba?

Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 12:39 pm
by RTR
Good grief - one of my coworkers back in DOD days worked with slime molds a bit. Bizarre organisms, tricky to culture from what I remember, but fascinating. I remember trying to some photography (time lapse microcinematography) for him and it was awful.

Re: FW Slime mold? FW Amoeba?

Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 12:43 pm
by J-P
they are .. the mod at APC who did the ID, said (if I can) to watch it because you "..could see the cytoplasm moving in tube like structures.."

Maybe later I'll try and get a video of it.