Hello again, Nicole here, but this time I will be sharing a couple of freshwater specimens. There is great diversity between the different species both at a macroscopic and anatomical level and a microscopic level. My husband Nilo and I have a couple of planted tanks so I decided to look at some of the plants and a “pest” at the cellular level. Nilo works with microscopes ALL the time, he studies phytoplankton and was excited to help me mount the slides and explore. Unfortunately, one of our tanks recently had an unexpected and significant rise in temperature killing all of the fish 🙁 and 3 of 4 shrimp (a robust survivor!) while also promoting the rapid growth of a nasty invader, generically known as ‘Green Hair Algae.’ This unfavorable long and stringy nuisance is difficult to identify because many strains look very similar (with the naked eye, us aquarists need more foldscopes!). Green Hair Algae are also so diverse that some individuals are actually more closely related to fungi and animals than plants. CRAZY!!! Here are a series of photos from afar, closer and a close up of the hairy pest.
It looks cool once magnified, I wonder if the different individuals can be identified to species level under a foldscope lens?
So on to the healthy tank where we find numerous species, but I will only be looking at two of them: Subwassertang ( Lomariopsis lineata ) and Java Moss ( Vesticularia dubyana ).
Note : both species have contradicting scientific names, neither of which have 100% certain identities. This is ironic because they are both very common in planted tanks.
Subwassertang originated from India and quickly spread to southeast Asia and can grow in both high and low light. It looks and feels like a seaweed but is a liverwort. This plant can be placed on the bottom of the tank, in gravel or sand, or tied to driftwood or a rock and will attach and grow.
Java Moss is native to southeast Asia and is very common in planted aquariums. It’s long and thin with lateral protrusions and currently has brown masses along the underside (possibly spores or sori?) This plant can thrive with varying light intensities and can even survive in brackish water! If placed on solid surfaces (rocks or wood) it will easily attach, and is a great addition if attempting to maintain water quality.
A couple of different views are shown below
I hope you all enjoyed learning a bit about freshwater planted tanks, I had fun sharing! Until next time 🙂
