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Algae vs. Fungus

I have a theory: Does the growth of algae on the top of the soil prevent the growth of fungus on the top of that same soil? Anyone know?
 
I'm guessing it wouldn't. If lichen is a symbiosis of algae and fungus living together on a rock (or a tree or a brick) I would guess they could do it in soil just fine. But like I said, that is just a guess

Pyro
 
Pyro, you beat me to it. Anyway, lichens are made up of certain kind of algae and fungus. For the soil...unless we want to go into the "specifics"...hard to tell.

But then again, I ever had mushrooms grow on peat that is green with algae (high humidity here). Mushrooms are fungi!
 
I think that the "algae" that most people end up with on their soil is actually a slime mold, a preditory life form that absorbs bacteria and other microscopic stuff, I know that some species prey on fungi, but I am not sure if the green one does. I rather like the stuff, if you watch it day to day it slowly crawls around the pot after it bunches up in the summer. (The green mutant marble from outer space! :wink: )
 
Supposedly you can keep slime mold as a 'pet' if you give it lots of oatmeal and TLC!
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I'd rather stick with cats and fish myself.
 
Thanks for the input guys.
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I have a pot with lots of slime growing on the surface. I watered it. The slime formed kind of a cover, and the water was oozing around under the slime, gross!
 
hehe, isn't it?
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Do you have anything else growing in the pot, or is it just 'pet slime'?

My pygmies live with slime. :biggrin:
 
so have you named your slime, Larry? there are some wonderful names out there you could give to a glob of slime
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have you tried feeding it any dried oatmeal? they're supposed to ooze with slurpy satisfaction upon a Quaker Oats feeding

ha! like your signature


(Edited by Dionaea Enthusiast at 9:45 pm on Mar. 18, 2002)
 
  • #10
It doesn't deserve a name, i hate it!  Its shares its pot with my vft, but the vft just ignores the slime.  I wonder if this sticky oozy slime is carnivorous!  I'm thinking it can trap bugs, but don't know about it digesting them
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  • #11
Greencrunch: Do really think it might be a slime mold? Have you looked at it under a microscope? It should be pretty easy to determine as the two organisms are quite different on a microscopic level.
 
  • #12
Hi Dodec, actually I have not used a microscope on it, my suspisions are based largely on its mobility and apparent life cycle, I am not aware of any terrestrial, mobile forms of alge that form globular bodies at the end of their life cycle, but I have been wrong before so who knows? =)
 
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