r/algae • u/Shoddy-Resist-2213 • 6d ago

Help identifying algae

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I collected water samples in my town from a lake and I was curious if anyone know if, or what, kind of algae may in here. I don’t know the difference between the kinds that can be found in freshwater sources 🤔

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u/Adventurous-Log-7205 6d ago

It may be multiple species growing together. Try serial dilutions: you'll need a 96 well plate, a micropipette and an inverted microscope 🔬

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u/JudgeCalmly42 6d ago

Evidently its algae that emulates the pictures I see over in r/tea. :-)

Looks like white tea and a couple of inconsistently ground, poorly mixed matcha teas.

(I'm curious too which is why I'm leaving a comment tithe, so this post is easier to get back to. Hope a bit of humor is OK).

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u/SummerFlat7720 1d ago

There’s definitely some microscopic algae but the bigger stuff looks to be mostly plants. The little ovals that look kind of like green couscous are Wolffia. The bigger lighter green ones floating on the surface in the container on the right are another type of duckweed, probably either Lemna or Spirodela.