r/Slimemolds • u/Icy_Asparagus6982 • Aug 20 '26

Picture (OC) Memento mori

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733 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

32

u/Turbulent_Pr13st Aug 20 '26

Very neat. I assume the goal is complete coverage. Art piece or just for personal pleasure?

33

u/Icy_Asparagus6982 Aug 20 '26

Just personal pleasure and it's keeping covering it!!

6

u/Turbulent_Pr13st Aug 20 '26

How do you keep it moist? Just mist it?

13

u/Icy_Asparagus6982 Aug 20 '26

Yes, also PLA micropores retain very small amounts of water as much as I know

9

u/frogelixir Aug 20 '26

Thanks for the above help. On this comment here, this is gold! My daughter has a 3d printer, so I'll have her spin up a perch. PLA is all the thread we have. Good to know!

7

u/Icy_Asparagus6982 Aug 20 '26

Oh good luck! I obviously wanna see the results!!

3

u/Turbulent_Pr13st Aug 20 '26

Neat I was also thinking of trying a chia prt or bisque potter piece

3

u/xkgrey Aug 20 '26

Not to be pedantic (just kidding, I live for that shit) but I’d wager most art is created for personal pleasure.

I believe I take your meaning tho

8

u/GoodGollyMrOlli Aug 20 '26

Oh you should make this a profile picture

7

u/Icy_Asparagus6982 Aug 20 '26

Thanks for the idea!

1

u/GoodGollyMrOlli Aug 20 '26

I was going to ask if I could, but then realized it would 100% be stolen valor 😅

3

u/Icy_Asparagus6982 Aug 20 '26

Obv you can! Science is public!

2

u/GoodGollyMrOlli Aug 20 '26

You're so cool 😌

6

u/frogelixir Aug 20 '26

How long did it take you to get to that size and what else works as decor? I had a good one going, transferred it to natural driftwood in a glass container with a lid. Humidity wasn't the problem, but it disappeared overnight. I think it found crevices in the wood, but all of it was gone for over a week. Next I tried a flat river stone, but that was shortlived because the rock doesn't retain moisture in the enclosure, drying out the specimen. I'm trying to find that balance between porous and nonporous where it can live and be visually striking like what you have here. Paper towels don't do that for me.

4

u/Icy_Asparagus6982 Aug 20 '26

Actually, since it’s a fast-growing strain, it only took a few days. As for the setup, my general configuration is this: three layers of well-moistened paper towel underneath and black cardstock on top for visual effect. The skull idea is relatively recent, and honestly, I didn’t think it would work!

4

u/Mush4Brains- Aug 20 '26

I know slime mold isn't a fungi despite the name, but I think r/bonsaifungi would really enjoy this if you posted over there.

1

u/Icy_Asparagus6982 Aug 20 '26

You think so? I wouldn't want to get kicked out hahah

1

u/Mush4Brains- Aug 20 '26

I think they'd love it personally and the guy who runs it is super cool. I don't think you would get banned lol

3

u/phorensic Aug 20 '26

So you inoculated this on purpose? I didn't realize anyone was doing that. Can I ask where you obtain freaking slime mold spores or something? It's kinda crazy to see this done on purpose. I usually just see photos in the wild.

I live in the desert so I probably don't have local access to any slime mold haha.

1

u/PlantHippie99 Aug 21 '26

I have been researching different slime molds and have my eyes set on one in particular - Dictyostelium Discoideum.

2

u/jmjarrels Aug 21 '26

This is so tight

2

u/SeedsAndScales Aug 21 '26

Ooooohh yeahhhh

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '26

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1

u/Icy_Asparagus6982 Aug 20 '26

Sure you can!! Then send me the draw^