Clear Algae ID - Photomicrograph

[Dan_P]

Here is tough ID. What are the clear segmented filaments?

While a mass of these clear filaments would be just visible, most likely you have never seen the single filament. The diatoms give you a sense of how narrow the filament is and the length of each cell. The contents of each cell seems to be mushed up against the side wall (you can see this in a few of the cells).

 

[vetteguy53081]

Here is tough ID. What are the clear segmented filaments?

While a mass of these clear filaments would be just visible, most likely you have never seen the single filament. The diatoms give you a sense of how narrow the filament is and the length of each cell. The contents of each cell seems to be mushed up against the side wall (you can see this in a few of the cells).

May be hair algae
Can you provide picture of actual algae under white lighting?

 

[Dan_P]

May be hair algae
Can you provide picture of actual algae under white lighting?

This particular filament has always been found growing amongst other algae. I never was able to photograph a clump of the stuff by itself.

 

[Dburr1014]

Maybe @taricha can id

 

[taricha]

Dan, I still don't have a good feeling for whether its a cyano or algae.
Normally I would call a filament like that cyano, but based on the size that seems unlikely. The pigmented center parts of cylindrotheca diatoms are ballpark ~25 um. So using them as a scale bar, that means individual cells in those filaments are like 50-100um long.
At that size, I think the number of cyanos that could do that is really really small, but the number of green algae capable of forming cells that size/shape is much larger.

 

[Dan_P]

Dan, I still don't have a good feeling for whether its a cyano or algae.
Normally I would call a filament like that cyano, but based on the size that seems unlikely. The pigmented center parts of cylindrotheca diatoms are ballpark ~25 um. So using them as a scale bar, that means individual cells in those filaments are like 50-100um long.
At that size, I think the number of cyanos that could do that is really really small, but the number of green algae capable of forming cells that size/shape is much larger.

My gut feeling was coming up with the same answer. Those cells are large and there seems to be thick cell walls. I don’t get the nearly clear cell unless there is a large storage vacuole squishing the cell contents up against the cell wall. Weird. Ok, I am going with an algae then. I should try grow some in the dark.