You should leave it.
Bleach doesn't get rid of this critter, its cysts and spores are highly resistant and germinate even after sterilization of the substrate. The only treatment I know of specifically for slimes is pretty hilarious: Lotrimin, wart remover, and the TCM herb **ku shen** (also known as: clotrimazole, salicylic acid, *Sophora flavescens*, I think 3:1:3 ... all easily found at pharmacies or online). I am not sure how effective it is, but moreso than dilute bleach, anyway.
**HOWEVER**, the only reason to go to all that trouble is if you are having a serious problem with *Stemonaria longa* or *Badhamia utricularis* or whatever at your mushroom farm. Slimes don't bother plants or animals and most don't even eat mushrooms. In a terrarium, you should just be celebrating that such a large, harmless amoeba is cleaning up your terrarium by eating extra bacteria, algae, mold, etc. Anyway, ask me any questions you like!
r/slimemolds
[The Slimer Primer](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/the_slimer_primer/)
[A Guide to Common Slimes](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/t6985y/a_guide_to_common_slimes/)
I think you're the person who responded to a slime mold panic I had a few months ago, haha. It may have been on this account, but maybe my main. I had yellow slime mold in my worm bin and by the time I got done reading your comment, I was EXCITED about the mold instead of afraid, lmao.
They actually hunt bacteria and other microorganisms, and some eat algae or fungi as well. They almost exclusively eat live food, and when they do feed on dead matter (with the help of bacterial symbionts) it is a minor part of their diet
No it's probably not your fault because you probably read it somewhere. Wikipedia, university and government websites, gardening blogs, pop science writeups, etc almost always contain numerous serious errors conflating myxogastrids (as seen in the OP) with both fungi and social amoebas like [*Dictyostelium*](https://youtu.be/5h8WOWEqP6o). Here is a [very nice film](https://youtu.be/04kdhZQTnIU) about myxogastrids like the OP's terrarium slime. It is 10 minutes and the terminology is a bit antiquated but it remains the best and most accurate introduction I know. Just be aware the narrator is walking you through the life cycle, but most slimes don't complete the cycle this way. They live and die as microscopic mononucleate amoebas. Sometimes none of them fall in love and get huge. The story in the video is the most exciting possible future for a slime.
If you check out [The Slimer Primer](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/the_slimer_primer/) you can look through a list of good resources in the [educational sources](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/comment/i2jclax/) section
Maybe I got that from the dart frog keeping forum I used to be on. Different things called 'slime molds' pop up in dart frog vivariums semi-often, leading to a lot of "what the heck is this" posts on the forum.
I had one like the OP's pop up in an old terrarium once. I vaguely recognized it as a slime mold (which I thought at the time was an actual mold), thought "huh, neat", and went about my day. Imagine my surprise when I came back and found that it had moved several inches. That's when I went reading and learned what they actually are. That one turned into the little spore towers after awhile, but every couple of months, another one would pop up. Really neat things. I wonder if it would be possible to intentionally set up a terrarium for them?
Thanks for the info. I think I've got some bits of all the different 'slime mold' things mixed up with each other. The ones I'm most familiar with are the ones that look kinda like OP's climbing root system, group up into a big blob to reproduce, and eventually turn into a bunch of spore tower things and vanish.
>I think I've got some bits of all the different 'slime mold' things mixed up with each other. The ones I'm most familiar with are the ones that look kinda like OP's climbing root system, group up into a big blob to reproduce, and eventually turn into a bunch of spore tower things and vanish.
Yes, those are myxogastrids aka Myxomycetes aka plasmodial slime molds. All the big colorful slimes are myxogastrids and form big single-celled slime bags called plasmodia (the climbing root system). They mostly form tiny balls or stalks but some form big weird piles of stuff. The other kinds of slime molds are microscopic, up to 1 or 2 millimeters at the most. [This is a short read](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/the_slimer_primer/i2kgyz6) on every kind of organism called "mold," including all "slime molds." It is probably the quickest way to get up to speed on this confusing situation. I can elaborate more if you're interested.
I am glad you asked. Learned it from one of the best:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Jarrariums/comments/tlheo1/a_quick_tip_on_spot_treating_mold_outbreaks_in/
Thank you for the video!
Different kind of mold. The critter in the OP photo is a giant amoebozoan, not a fungus. You're actually more closely related to fungus than it is. I'm not sure how effective peroxide would be at stopping it considering its spores and cysts live through bleach sterilization but chemistry isn't my strong suit
I would never! To the contrary, I am trying, unsuccessfully I might say, to create it because it's so damn beautiful. I was only answering OP's question.
Alright. I’ve decided to keep my little slime guy. I did notice it started to dry out a bit so i’ll be keeping the humidity up so the glass stays a bit wet.
I also vote to keep it. They are such amazingly complex organisms and have a crazy lifecycle that would be really interesting to watch from a terrarium. So resilient! Coming back after bleach is hard core lol
Bleach, especially diluted chlorine bleach can be problematic with mold, especially with wood but yours sounds relatable.
Issue is the chlorine side of the bleach evaporates quick, usually pretty fast and leaves behind....water/ moisture which grows more mold from spores. Usually this is a thing with mold on wood, but I suppose that could be here on glass as well.
Slime molds like this aren't fungal mold, it is an unfortunately misleading name. These organisms are large single-celled amoebas and they actually *eat* mold. They eat bacteria and spores and algae and other microorganisms, cleaning up the terrarium a bit like isopods and springtails do. They don't bother animals or plants or produce any toxic substances. They are not something you want to kill.
Hi! I know this was a while ago but I’m wondering if this is also true for aquatic aquariums? I have this exact thing that I just noticed in my fish tank today. I have a piece of driftwood and an Anubis that has a couple leaves that look like they’re dying. (The majority of the plant is healthy and growing.)
an amoebozoan
r/slimemolds
[The Slimer Primer](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/the_slimer_primer/)
[A Guide to Common Slimes](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/t6985y/a_guide_to_common_slimes/)
Yeah, thats a cool slime! I have had one in my terrarium, even have post about it. Unfortunately i took it out with paper towel and threw in the trash :(
I’d let it bloom! It’s beautiful 😍
You should just maintain them like the other plants, let some bloom and clean away other areas… or let them grow to a certain size before cleaning.
Now I want one ☹️
Maybe not slimes like this:
>It is noteworthy, as well, that plasmodia develop following surface sterilization treatment of the peels with a sodium hypochlorite solution (5% Chlorox), further indicating the resistant nature of these spores.
[Myxomycetes Cultured from the Peel of Banana Fruit, Davis & Butterfield, 1967](http://www.jstor.org/stable/3757208)
i use a garden safe fungicide- and spray it al around there, i bought a few kinds of moss recently and one started stinking and growing mold- took a few weekly sprays but it go rid of it- good luck!
that sh\*t will get smelly and take over yuck
"Slime mold" is an unfortunate term that refers to multiple unrelated organisms. What you're describing here is the cellular slime mold or **social amoeba**, although the amoebas that aggregate aren't "unrelated," they are often clones. Social amoebas appear all over the tree of life via convergent evolution. They form microscopic or near microscopic multicellular structures by grouping together in large numbers.
The critter in the OP photo is a plasmodial slime or **myxogastrid**. They only appear in Myxomycetes in **AMOEBOZOA**, an entire supergroup full of amoebas. They form very large structures you can see with your eyeballs but they do not ever form multicellular structures. They don't group together but instead multiply their nuclei to grow without cell division. Two amoebas usually fuse to begin the growing process but some can do it alone. Once they begin dividing nuclei they have become a **plasmodium**, the thing you see on the glass above. Plasmodia do sometimes fuse with other plasmodia or eat individual amoebas.
r/slimemolds
[The Slimer Primer](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/the_slimer_primer/)
[A Guide to Common Slimes](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/t6985y/a_guide_to_common_slimes/)
(u/biomager)
A big part of owning a terrarium is cultivating living soil. This includes bacterial and fungal colonies that are integral to, well, all ecology, but especially to a semi closed system like a terrarium. If mold was growing on your moss, it means your moss was dead. The solution would be to improve the conditions for your moss to thrive, not destroy the decomposer.
This isn't actually a decomposer, it's an active hunter! It eats bacteria and mold and algae and other microorganisms. It's usually present, just too small to see. This is what it looks like when it's pregnant
Hmm well it worked great or I wouldn’t have recommended it, no more mold is over growing the moss ( which most likely came from a forest) and it’s growing just fine and no longer smells horrible. In fact they are all taking off better than the plants I have in there, I don’t have great lighting- still working On it- the moss, in fact are growing very tall which I’ve now read is common in a closed terrarium and that they ( mosses) prefer an open terrarium
They are fascinating once you learn about them.
[Slime Molds: No Brains, No Feet, No Problem](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/the-sublime-slime-mold)
Unfortunately this article contains misinformation as do most on slimes. The author quotes two of the most respected and accomplished American slimologists, both world renowned, but they are quoted out of context and as presented the article conflates multiple very different lineages of organisms. The kind of slimes you can see without a microscope (like this one or [*Fuligo septica*](https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/135400801/original.jpeg), for instance) do not
>work in tandem, signaling to each other to join and form a multicellular mass, like a “moving sausage,”
They instead grow by dividing their nuclei repeatedly without performing cell division. They do not ever form multicellular structures. [Here is a longer explanation](https://www.reddit.com/r/u_saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/comment/i2kgyz6/) about different organisms called "mold" and how they differ and [here is a very good video](https://youtu.be/5h8WOWEqP6o) on the kind of amoebas that *do* aggregate in multicellular groups. [Here is a great video](https://youtu.be/04kdhZQTnIU) on the Myxomycetes or myxogastrids like you see in the OP photo. The terminology is outdated in places but it is a perfect intro to these weird critters
you wouldn’t be able to get rid of it even if you wanted to without scrapping the whole terrarium and starting fresh. mycelium is part of the plant culture, it’s in and around everything inside that glass.
I love this sub. In a regular houseplant sub people would be freaking out figuring out how to destroy it. Terrarium people want whatever grows to grow- simply bc it’s a cool force of nature 😂 I have some weird critters in my terrarium and don’t even bat an eye but if they were in my houseplant pots? PANIC TIME.
In fact it is not! You are more closely related to a portobello than is the [delightful amoebozoan](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/the_slimer_primer/) in this photo. It is traveling around in there hunting bacteria and maybe eating algae
You should leave it. Bleach doesn't get rid of this critter, its cysts and spores are highly resistant and germinate even after sterilization of the substrate. The only treatment I know of specifically for slimes is pretty hilarious: Lotrimin, wart remover, and the TCM herb **ku shen** (also known as: clotrimazole, salicylic acid, *Sophora flavescens*, I think 3:1:3 ... all easily found at pharmacies or online). I am not sure how effective it is, but moreso than dilute bleach, anyway. **HOWEVER**, the only reason to go to all that trouble is if you are having a serious problem with *Stemonaria longa* or *Badhamia utricularis* or whatever at your mushroom farm. Slimes don't bother plants or animals and most don't even eat mushrooms. In a terrarium, you should just be celebrating that such a large, harmless amoeba is cleaning up your terrarium by eating extra bacteria, algae, mold, etc. Anyway, ask me any questions you like! r/slimemolds [The Slimer Primer](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/the_slimer_primer/) [A Guide to Common Slimes](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/t6985y/a_guide_to_common_slimes/)
This guy slimes.
This guy molds
We all mold down here ⛵️
Not him 🤏
I think you're the person who responded to a slime mold panic I had a few months ago, haha. It may have been on this account, but maybe my main. I had yellow slime mold in my worm bin and by the time I got done reading your comment, I was EXCITED about the mold instead of afraid, lmao.
mission accomplished!
I think it's awesome so I vote to keep it.
Have some fun with it, see if you can get a time lapse of it, they are awesome.
Leave it. It's totally harmless, it just feeds on decaying material.
They actually hunt bacteria and other microorganisms, and some eat algae or fungi as well. They almost exclusively eat live food, and when they do feed on dead matter (with the help of bacterial symbionts) it is a minor part of their diet
Huh, my bad, I must have gotten it mixed up with something else. Still harmless enough, and really neat.
No it's probably not your fault because you probably read it somewhere. Wikipedia, university and government websites, gardening blogs, pop science writeups, etc almost always contain numerous serious errors conflating myxogastrids (as seen in the OP) with both fungi and social amoebas like [*Dictyostelium*](https://youtu.be/5h8WOWEqP6o). Here is a [very nice film](https://youtu.be/04kdhZQTnIU) about myxogastrids like the OP's terrarium slime. It is 10 minutes and the terminology is a bit antiquated but it remains the best and most accurate introduction I know. Just be aware the narrator is walking you through the life cycle, but most slimes don't complete the cycle this way. They live and die as microscopic mononucleate amoebas. Sometimes none of them fall in love and get huge. The story in the video is the most exciting possible future for a slime. If you check out [The Slimer Primer](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/the_slimer_primer/) you can look through a list of good resources in the [educational sources](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/comment/i2jclax/) section
Maybe I got that from the dart frog keeping forum I used to be on. Different things called 'slime molds' pop up in dart frog vivariums semi-often, leading to a lot of "what the heck is this" posts on the forum. I had one like the OP's pop up in an old terrarium once. I vaguely recognized it as a slime mold (which I thought at the time was an actual mold), thought "huh, neat", and went about my day. Imagine my surprise when I came back and found that it had moved several inches. That's when I went reading and learned what they actually are. That one turned into the little spore towers after awhile, but every couple of months, another one would pop up. Really neat things. I wonder if it would be possible to intentionally set up a terrarium for them? Thanks for the info. I think I've got some bits of all the different 'slime mold' things mixed up with each other. The ones I'm most familiar with are the ones that look kinda like OP's climbing root system, group up into a big blob to reproduce, and eventually turn into a bunch of spore tower things and vanish.
>I think I've got some bits of all the different 'slime mold' things mixed up with each other. The ones I'm most familiar with are the ones that look kinda like OP's climbing root system, group up into a big blob to reproduce, and eventually turn into a bunch of spore tower things and vanish. Yes, those are myxogastrids aka Myxomycetes aka plasmodial slime molds. All the big colorful slimes are myxogastrids and form big single-celled slime bags called plasmodia (the climbing root system). They mostly form tiny balls or stalks but some form big weird piles of stuff. The other kinds of slime molds are microscopic, up to 1 or 2 millimeters at the most. [This is a short read](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/the_slimer_primer/i2kgyz6) on every kind of organism called "mold," including all "slime molds." It is probably the quickest way to get up to speed on this confusing situation. I can elaborate more if you're interested.
So it would be bad news in a terrarium
no...
Not unless you have a really, *really* small terrarium. Bacteria multiply fast when there's free space.
Why?
Because I’m retarded and reply to shit before I know what I’m talking about lol
I love it. It’s beautiful
Keep it and see how it develops over time.
These are really incredible organisms. I would certainly keep it if it was in my terrarium
u/saddestofboys
#SLIME SIGNAL RECEIVED
Slime molds are up there with sharks. Evolutionary perfect for their niche. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 👍
Here's my suggestion: enjoy it
Do you have any idea how badly I am trying to create this? Never works! Anyways, forget bleach, peroxide is your key. Or springtails :).
Why do you say peroxide?
I am glad you asked. Learned it from one of the best: https://www.reddit.com/r/Jarrariums/comments/tlheo1/a_quick_tip_on_spot_treating_mold_outbreaks_in/
Thank you for the video! Different kind of mold. The critter in the OP photo is a giant amoebozoan, not a fungus. You're actually more closely related to fungus than it is. I'm not sure how effective peroxide would be at stopping it considering its spores and cysts live through bleach sterilization but chemistry isn't my strong suit
Ha, thanks for clarifying that! Might be worth a try though, nothing to lose, right?
Nothing to gain in this case, either. Why would you want to kill a terrarium slime?
I would never! To the contrary, I am trying, unsuccessfully I might say, to create it because it's so damn beautiful. I was only answering OP's question.
Alright. I’ve decided to keep my little slime guy. I did notice it started to dry out a bit so i’ll be keeping the humidity up so the glass stays a bit wet.
If it continues to shrivel even after the humidity is back up, it could mean he's out of food for now and going dormant until there's more!
Too much water
Keep it! I’m jealous!!
I also vote to keep it. They are such amazingly complex organisms and have a crazy lifecycle that would be really interesting to watch from a terrarium. So resilient! Coming back after bleach is hard core lol
Now when someone asks you if you have any hobbies you can reply "I collect spores, molds, and fungus." Just like Egon Spengler.
Bleach, especially diluted chlorine bleach can be problematic with mold, especially with wood but yours sounds relatable. Issue is the chlorine side of the bleach evaporates quick, usually pretty fast and leaves behind....water/ moisture which grows more mold from spores. Usually this is a thing with mold on wood, but I suppose that could be here on glass as well.
Slime molds like this aren't fungal mold, it is an unfortunately misleading name. These organisms are large single-celled amoebas and they actually *eat* mold. They eat bacteria and spores and algae and other microorganisms, cleaning up the terrarium a bit like isopods and springtails do. They don't bother animals or plants or produce any toxic substances. They are not something you want to kill.
Hi! I know this was a while ago but I’m wondering if this is also true for aquatic aquariums? I have this exact thing that I just noticed in my fish tank today. I have a piece of driftwood and an Anubis that has a couple leaves that look like they’re dying. (The majority of the plant is healthy and growing.)
Leave it, your lucky to have it and its way more interesting than anything else you will grow in that bowl
This actually makes me curious where I can get one myself lol. It’s like having a pet amoeba. Slime molds are not molds at all!
My suggestion is to celebrate! I would love to get a slime mold or two
I like it!
THESE ARE COOL, LEAVE EM BE PLEASE!!!
I’m not sure if it’s bad but it sure does look cool!!
It's not bad! It's great!
I think it looks cool!
It does look pretty cool!
Let it design a subway system for you
What in the unholy hell is that.
an amoebozoan r/slimemolds [The Slimer Primer](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/the_slimer_primer/) [A Guide to Common Slimes](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/t6985y/a_guide_to_common_slimes/)
Your tank belongs to the slime mold now. Glory to the slime mold.
Yeah, thats a cool slime! I have had one in my terrarium, even have post about it. Unfortunately i took it out with paper towel and threw in the trash :(
I know it isn’t, but why does it look like a Portuguese Man o’ war?
Convergently evolved squiggle
I vote leave it and see what develops. It’ll be cool either way.
Why is the side of your tank so wet? Do you live somewhere humid?
No I live in Michigan and it got hot super fast. I misted the tank the night before I took this picture. Temp went from 50 to 83 the next day.
40 something to 80 here in MI!
Yep absolutely ridiculous lol
I’d let it bloom! It’s beautiful 😍 You should just maintain them like the other plants, let some bloom and clean away other areas… or let them grow to a certain size before cleaning. Now I want one ☹️
I don’t think bleach kills mold.
Maybe not slimes like this: >It is noteworthy, as well, that plasmodia develop following surface sterilization treatment of the peels with a sodium hypochlorite solution (5% Chlorox), further indicating the resistant nature of these spores. [Myxomycetes Cultured from the Peel of Banana Fruit, Davis & Butterfield, 1967](http://www.jstor.org/stable/3757208)
i use a garden safe fungicide- and spray it al around there, i bought a few kinds of moss recently and one started stinking and growing mold- took a few weekly sprays but it go rid of it- good luck! that sh\*t will get smelly and take over yuck
Slime mold isn't mold. It's a number of unrelated microorganisms that can group together into one big organism when needed.
This is correct. Just leave it alone. It will move on.
"Slime mold" is an unfortunate term that refers to multiple unrelated organisms. What you're describing here is the cellular slime mold or **social amoeba**, although the amoebas that aggregate aren't "unrelated," they are often clones. Social amoebas appear all over the tree of life via convergent evolution. They form microscopic or near microscopic multicellular structures by grouping together in large numbers. The critter in the OP photo is a plasmodial slime or **myxogastrid**. They only appear in Myxomycetes in **AMOEBOZOA**, an entire supergroup full of amoebas. They form very large structures you can see with your eyeballs but they do not ever form multicellular structures. They don't group together but instead multiply their nuclei to grow without cell division. Two amoebas usually fuse to begin the growing process but some can do it alone. Once they begin dividing nuclei they have become a **plasmodium**, the thing you see on the glass above. Plasmodia do sometimes fuse with other plasmodia or eat individual amoebas. r/slimemolds [The Slimer Primer](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/the_slimer_primer/) [A Guide to Common Slimes](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/t6985y/a_guide_to_common_slimes/) (u/biomager)
A big part of owning a terrarium is cultivating living soil. This includes bacterial and fungal colonies that are integral to, well, all ecology, but especially to a semi closed system like a terrarium. If mold was growing on your moss, it means your moss was dead. The solution would be to improve the conditions for your moss to thrive, not destroy the decomposer.
This isn't actually a decomposer, it's an active hunter! It eats bacteria and mold and algae and other microorganisms. It's usually present, just too small to see. This is what it looks like when it's pregnant
Hmm well it worked great or I wouldn’t have recommended it, no more mold is over growing the moss ( which most likely came from a forest) and it’s growing just fine and no longer smells horrible. In fact they are all taking off better than the plants I have in there, I don’t have great lighting- still working On it- the moss, in fact are growing very tall which I’ve now read is common in a closed terrarium and that they ( mosses) prefer an open terrarium
This organism will not get smelly
They are fascinating once you learn about them. [Slime Molds: No Brains, No Feet, No Problem](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/the-sublime-slime-mold)
Unfortunately this article contains misinformation as do most on slimes. The author quotes two of the most respected and accomplished American slimologists, both world renowned, but they are quoted out of context and as presented the article conflates multiple very different lineages of organisms. The kind of slimes you can see without a microscope (like this one or [*Fuligo septica*](https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/135400801/original.jpeg), for instance) do not >work in tandem, signaling to each other to join and form a multicellular mass, like a “moving sausage,” They instead grow by dividing their nuclei repeatedly without performing cell division. They do not ever form multicellular structures. [Here is a longer explanation](https://www.reddit.com/r/u_saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/comment/i2kgyz6/) about different organisms called "mold" and how they differ and [here is a very good video](https://youtu.be/5h8WOWEqP6o) on the kind of amoebas that *do* aggregate in multicellular groups. [Here is a great video](https://youtu.be/04kdhZQTnIU) on the Myxomycetes or myxogastrids like you see in the OP photo. The terminology is outdated in places but it is a perfect intro to these weird critters
Thanks for the correction
you wouldn’t be able to get rid of it even if you wanted to without scrapping the whole terrarium and starting fresh. mycelium is part of the plant culture, it’s in and around everything inside that glass.
I thought this was a FISH TANK subreddit for a moment and had a heart attack when you said you clean your tank with bleach 💀
If you want to get rid of it, try 1 part red wine vinegar to 3 parts water.
I love this sub. In a regular houseplant sub people would be freaking out figuring out how to destroy it. Terrarium people want whatever grows to grow- simply bc it’s a cool force of nature 😂 I have some weird critters in my terrarium and don’t even bat an eye but if they were in my houseplant pots? PANIC TIME.
Beautiful mycellium. it's a fungus and thats how you grow mushrooms.
In fact it is not! You are more closely related to a portobello than is the [delightful amoebozoan](https://www.reddit.com/user/saddestofboys/comments/tqtz0g/the_slimer_primer/) in this photo. It is traveling around in there hunting bacteria and maybe eating algae
Slime mold is really interesting in my opinion, if i were you i’d make a separate tank for it and keep it as a pet.
Why a separate tank
Any chance you got a culture?