Rhodomonas salina phyto question...

[afboundguy]

I got some Rhodomonas phyto and tried culturing it and after the first 1-2 days and it went clear so I thought I lost it. There were small brown particles on the bottom of the jar so I shook it to try and stir it up and I just let it keep going. When I went to split and harvest the rest of the strands I noticed the Rhodomonas was slightly tinted brown and not clear anymore so I added more sterilized SW and F2 and now it's dark again after 3 or 4 days after my last split/culturing day.

I know best way to figure out if it's really back is to get a microscope and I plan to soon but curious if this has happened to anyone else? It is the color it is supposed to be which is why I am asking and I have had other green strands go clear and then have "come back" but not looked the correct color.

 

[Stephers]

I've been culturing Rhodomonas for a bit now. It absolutely grows very fast when it wants to, far faster than my other strains. I have to use much less phyto to saltwater when setting up my culture compared to the others. I've seen videos that Reef Legends have where they're culturing it and their Day 1 looks completely clear and by Day 7 it's nice and red. While it's a tricky strain for sure, the good thing is it multiplies quickly.

Edit to add: Microscope is always a good idea. Rhodomonas is pretty easy to ID. They're a good size and move around quite a bit.

 

[SaltyB24]

When I split my first culture of that strain (1:1 ratio of culture and SW) It went from red to green to clear to light brown then back to red. I thought I screwed it up big time but its almost time to harvest the next batch and its on track for being the right color :grinning-face-with-sweat: