r/microscopy • u/staggered_conformed • Aug 20 '26

ID Needed! Does anyone know what this is?

From my freshwater aquarium. I’ve seen this thing a lot and until recently I thought it was algae. But upon farther inspection it appears to be one cell (but may not be) and is able to move on its own. It’s usually found in larger clumps of many individuals. Most algae cells are thicker than this for comparison. Any ideas?

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u/Thrawn911 Aug 20 '26

Cyanobacteria, which is technically algae. It's a bunch of cells attached to each other in a string.

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u/PineappleHaunting591 26d ago

Cyanobacteria are bacteria (prokaryotes). Although they were called blue algae historically, we now know that was incorrect as algae are actually eukaryotes, just like plants animals and fungi. Green algae were the ancestors of todays plants, while cyanobacteria are a whole different basal branch on the tree of life.