I am growing physarum polycephalum slime mould at home after bringing them back from the lab.

Now that they are not in a sterile lab environment, I was wondering how can I raise them with as little contamination as possible. They are placed in the dark in a cupboard, and I've been feeding them oats with tweezers that I wiped down with alcohol wipes. One of them started having black spots (my professor said it was black mould) and I quickly rescued the safe parts.

May I ask:

1. How do we raise slime mould at home and prevent them from going bad?

2. What are some things to look out for/common mistakes when raising slime mould at home?

3. I want to keep making agar plates but I don't have access to distilled water outside of the lab. Is tap/boiled water ok?

Thank you so much. English isn't my first language so I'm sorry if I got some stuff wrong.

Noticed this dangling from my driftwood after about 2 weeks of cycling my tank. No one seemed to know what it is until I stumbled across a slime mold picture. So... is this slime mold?

I’m currently working on project and try to grow slime molds: Fuligo Septica and Badhamia Utricularis but recently spoted this dots growing all of the sudden. They tend to form long white webs. Can you help me to identify them?

I moved recently and forgot to take my agar powder with me. Is there a different substrate that can be used to grow slime molds?

I have considered using peat moss and letting the slime mold grow on top of that, but the oats seemed to get moldy before the slime mold could eat it.

Hello there,

I am working on a project regarding Physarum polycephalum and networks. Me and my partner don 't know alot about this slimemold.

Does anyone have any information regarding the best conditions to grow it in. Such as temperature, humidity etc.

Does anyone have any good sources to get our hands on the slimemold itself? We have found some links on etsy. But non of the universities in our country have them.

How does the slime mold react to for example obstructions in the agarplate (for example the removal of a channel of agar)? Or is agar even the best medium for this slimemold.

We've heard it is best to create network nodules for the slimemold to work on with oats. Is this correct? Or is there a better foodsource to use for this purpose.

Thanks alot

Found on large conifer log, western Washington state, USA

found on dead oak

Found on conifer log in western Washington state, USA. It was in a well shaded spot in the forest.

Does anybody know what this is? I found it above a sash window in a listed building I live in

How to cope with being stupid?

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https://preview.redd.it/slagcxyzirwd1.jpg?width=877&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e9b5dfc06ed4b78b7ccadeca8d0aa32eec98db21

https://preview.redd.it/inaegki0jrwd1.jpg?width=877&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54b22d80dc382ade103985d76af21f19343de043

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