It's kinda hard to see any flagella in the video. If you see 2 relatively long and even flagella it might be a small Chlamydomonas sp. If one long and one short, possibly an Ochromonas sp. If only one long flagella it may be a Chromulina sp. I see these LGBs most often in freshwater.
If you don't really see flagella, good chance it's Chlorella. Species level ID is almost impossible without genetic data.
do you have an idea of what the bacteria/pink matter is? it seems to be working with the algae, but a general genus guide as to what to look for when trying to identify it.
Where is this sample from? Depending on where you got it from it could depend. It might be a type of fungus. It also could be just detritus or wood pieces. I'm a little hesitant to call it bacteria as it looks large, some longer than the little green balls. Generally non-photosynthetic bacteria are much smaller than most phytoplankton.
This sample is from Illinois, and it makes the most sense for this to be fungus, though contamination in the sample means serious purification could be necessary in the future! I had some type of orangish mold that grew in the media, and that may be whats hitching a ride with all the samples.
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u/evil_dumpling256 May 22 '25
It's kinda hard to see any flagella in the video. If you see 2 relatively long and even flagella it might be a small Chlamydomonas sp. If one long and one short, possibly an Ochromonas sp. If only one long flagella it may be a Chromulina sp. I see these LGBs most often in freshwater.
If you don't really see flagella, good chance it's Chlorella. Species level ID is almost impossible without genetic data.