10/23/2026
Happy , TanninBaes! 🍂🍄 I’m fairly sure this is a plasmodial slime mold (a myxomycete), which is closer to the protists than to fungi. The life cycle starts when a spore hatches into what is called a free swimming swarm cell, compatible cells fuse, and that grows into the plasmodium which we see creep along our driftwood or up the glass. The veined, almost honeycomb like, network you’re looking at on this twig. It eats by engulfing bacteria and bits of organic matter via phagocytosis. When its food sources run out, it goes dormant as a sclerotium. When conditions become stressful fruiting is triggered. It raises sporangia, releases spores, and the whole thing starts over. Here’s a group of potential names which could identify what we are looking at: Badhamia lilacina, Symphytocarpus trechisporus, and Didymium applanatum. Myxogastria. If you are an expert in this subject please chime in!
We often associate fungi, mushrooms, in terrestrial environments only, such as our local woodlands. However, aquatic hyphomycetes (also called Ingoldian fungi, after the mycologist C.T. Ingold) can be found on submerged botanicals. You’ll rarely see them, since most of the fungus lives inside the leaf. Their spores are often branched or curved, which helps them snag onto leaves in moving water. A spore lands and germinates, hyphae grow and enter the cells of the botanical, enzymes soften cellulose and other fibers, then tiny stalks release a new round of spores into the water.
They tend to be a temporary occurrence in our Botanical Method Aquariums, and their presence can suggest an active leaf litter foodweb with plenty of food at its base.
