Mother Algae

Having received our bioluminescent specimen on Friday November 6th it is about time I give an update. Sunnyside Sea Farms in Santa Barbra, CA sent us over (3) 5mL bags of very beautiful and very delicate Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates, aka Pyrocysts fusiformis, or "Lights from the Sea" which until now we have been calling bioluminescent algae, and most likely will continue to call it such.

I am the fortunate occupant of a very warm bedroom so I took the tropical little guys home with me. After their exciting trip across the country I let the algae rest for a 24 hour cycle, 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark. Once I felt they had enough time to settle from shipping I gave their bags a little poke. To my delight the specimen were very much alive, and gave off a beautiful blue glow. Immediately I began learning about them. I was able to identify what was algae and what was not(maybe this seems obvious but they are very difficult to see during the day). Poking the bags once more I noticed that they glowed for a shorter period of time. Waiting for longer before the third poke seemed to let them regenerate and they glowed as bright and for as long as the first time.

The specimen held up just fine in their original worlds for a couple days, but we wanted to give them room to grow. In order to do so, I prepared two 2L bottles full of sea-saltwater (specific gravity of 1.019) with a little bit of micro algae grow. Being that it was my fist time dealing with specific gravities and hydrometers I began with a bit of difficulty, but by the second batch I had it figured out pretty well. To help ensure a safe transfer I left the two bottles of saltwater in the same room as the algae for the night (their day) in order to get the solutions to the same room temp, and prevent shock.

I am proud to say that the transfer went swimmingly, and the algae have survived beyond it. At first I was nervous to make the transfer during their night cycle because it meant doing so in the dark. However, everything went well and it was quite a spectacle. As I poured the algae into the new solution they glowed. The stream of glowing algae twisted and twirled as it penetrated the saltwater solution. It was truly beautiful. Unfortunately, I have encountered much difficulty and little to no triumph in my attempts to document the glow of the algae.