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Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V1 #57
>From: Kevin Conlin <kcconlin at zola_cae.ca>
>Date: Tue, 03 Oct 1995 10:29:05 -0400
>Subject: White fuzzy stuff on yeast CO2 outlets revealed
>
>I finally became curious enough to put some of the white fuzz that grows
>at the outlet of my DIY yeast CO2 system under a microscope. At 600x,
>very narrow unbranching filaments are seen. These filaments appear to be
>chains of bacteria; they are divided into individual cells with no apparent
>internal structure like so:
>
> ____________________________________
> __|____|____|____|____|____|____|___
>
>Most strands were very long, but there were many small fragments consisting of
>just a few cells. Many motile and immotile bacteria were also seen. I didn't
>have a reticle so I couldn't determine actual dimensions. Perhaps some
>microbiologist could come up with a speculative ID for these critters.
>- --
>Kevin Conlin kcconlin at cae_ca "We're Canadians. We HAVE to be polite"
>
I am not a microbiologist, just a biologist, but I have seen these, too,
appearing as white tufts on top of the mulm in some of my darker aquaria.
A few months ago I looked at some under a microscope, and saw just what you
describe. I think it is a colorless blue-green alga, or cyanobacterium,
and it looks just like Oscillatoria except for the lack of pigment. I
found on the web a group that works with cyanobacterial toxins, and their
leader said that he could not give me a professional opinion, but he gave
several addresses of people he thought could help. I havn't got to them
yet, but will try to, and if I find anything, I will post it here. By the
way, If what you saw was like what I saw, you should have seen motility in
the cyanobacterial threads. They should glide slowly and bend slowly from
side to side.
Paul Krombholz Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS 39174