Please ID - Fungus?

pwnell · Post by **pwnell** » Thu Aug 28, 2014 6:03 pm

I have this white hair like organism growing on the live rock in my reef aquarium. It grows only in areas of darkness, i.e. the undersides of the rocks. Also, since it is white / transparent, I presume it has no chlorophyll and therefore not an algae. The strands are about 1cm long.

10x*1.25, DIC

10x*1.25, DF

60x/1.2*1.25, FLUO-C6

60x/1.2*1.25, DIC, HF A

60x/1.2*1.25, DIC, HF A (100% crop)

20x*1.25, FLUO-C6

Macro photo using Canon 1Dx and 100mm F2.8 lens

Jacek · Post by **Jacek** » Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:04 pm

I do not know what it is, it looks like a mushroom.
The fifth picture great

BJ · Post by BJ » Fri Aug 29, 2014 5:36 am

Hi,

i particularly like #5 and #6.

You are certainly producing some wonderful (and informative) images with fluorescence.

No nuclei or other organelles so not a fungus (or alga). It is some sort of filamentous bacterium ~Beggiatoa or Thiothrix...both occur in marine aquaria.

thanks for posting!

Brian

carlos.uruguay · Post by **carlos.uruguay** » Fri Aug 29, 2014 9:13 am

Nice images!!!
Does not resemble Beggiatoa or Thiothrix.
http://www.asissludge.com/Scripts/d00000000.htm

pwnell · Post by **pwnell** » Fri Aug 29, 2014 10:05 am

Thanks for the comments so far. I am also wondering if it could be a bacterium as it is really large - look at the 10x shot, normally I cannot see bacteria at this low magnification. But then again I do not know much about bacteria...

Ecki · Post by **Ecki** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 8:35 am

There are some green sulfur bacteria which build long string-shaped structures. But this looks like a fungus hypha (feeding hypha). The calcofluor that you used binds to the chitin in the cell walls.

Regards
Ecki

pwnell · Post by **pwnell** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 10:25 am

Thanks Ecki. I did not stain these - the fluorescence is due to autofluorescence.

Here are two more pictures showing a circular structure inside the walls:

100x*1.25, DIC

carlos.uruguay · Post by **carlos.uruguay** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 12:51 pm

It seems a dead structure. Granules of sulphur or intracellular material are not observed

pwnell · Post by **pwnell** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 1:46 pm

carlos.uruguay wrote:It seems a dead structure. Granules of sulphur or intracellular material are not observed

Well they proliferate... So there has to be life.

carlos.uruguay · Post by **carlos.uruguay** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 2:40 pm

Thank for the data pwnell
I will be reading to see if we find out which organism are they...
seem very long to be bacteria.
Are they moving?

pwnell · Post by **pwnell** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 3:13 pm

Under the microscope they do sometimes move when exposed to light. Put it this way, I cannot easily take a stack of photos as one of the strands would suddenly move. Whether that is because of intrinsic movement or expelling of lipids / chemicals I am unsure. I know that as I take photos more and more oil like bubbles form.

carlos.uruguay · Post by **carlos.uruguay** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 5:17 pm

Hi.
The most similar I've found is Planktothrix or Trichodesmium
(Trichodesmium I don't know if it lives in freshwater)