High Nutrient Macro Algae/Sea Grass Reef

I was saddened to find that Jammies died last night. He ate yesterday and did not act sickly although his fins have gotten ragged lately and of course his eye that was treated with antibiotics never went back to normal. I will miss him, he was the first fish that I got after I had a species only seahorse tank in 2018. I have had a lot of fish live more than 4 years but I do believe that is about a pajama cardinals lifespan and Jammies was full grown when I got him.
 
Sorry Dawn. I'll give you some of my experience with PJ's. First off, they tend to do better in mated pairs. The male will protect his female and even provide food for her when going through breeding cycles. Hiding places are a must. They thrive in mangrove forests and get great protection in the root systems.
I got 5 from Elmer's when I first set up my 54 corner. It took about 2 years for the pair to get together and they started killing off the other three. They were in that tank for over seven years. I gave them away when I took the tank down a couple years back.
Most likely the most peaceful fish I've ever had.
 
Misled said:
Sorry Dawn. I'll give you some of my experience with PJ's. First off, they tend to do better in mated pairs. The male will protect his female and even provide food for her when going through breeding cycles. Hiding places are a must. They thrive in mangrove forests and get great protection in the root systems.
I got 5 from Elmer's when I first set up my 54 corner. It took about 2 years for the pair to get together and they started killing off the other three. They were in that tank for over seven years. I gave them away when I took the tank down a couple years back.
Most likely the most peaceful fish I've ever had.
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Thanks Jesse for the info. That is good to know that they can live that long. I got PJ some time after I had gotten Jammies but I do not think that they ever paired off. In fact Jammies chased PJ in an annoyance way until he died.
With your information I will not get anymore pajama cardinals until after PJ lives out his life, (which I hope is not cut short now that he is alone). I do like their peaceful disposition which is why I had them in with the seahorses.
 
I think I am giving up on being able to grow seagrass in my refugium. I have tried changing the lighting, adding more trace elements, dosing iron and still they haven't thrived. I am going to let more caulerpa grow on the sand, although still in a cautious way so it does not suck up all the nutrients.

The display tank is really looking nice with the new nephthea and the purple foot green BTA. I am enjoying the feather duster s that I bought a while back too. The fish have really settled into a comfortable place with each other and they seem like a good community for my tank.

This week I began vacuuming the shallow sandbed in the display. I always meant to maintain it that way but just never did. However a small amount of rust colored algae on the sand bed now has me motivated to take care of the shallow sand bed.

I am pretty happy with the tank system however so it's all good.
 
IMG_20220323_143727269.jpg
​​​​​​I cleaned the tank today so here are some quick pics. FTS and an end shot.
 

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Misled said:
Looks like a sinularia to me.
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I thought so too Jesse but I bought it at Reef Gallery and Jamie said it was nephthea. So I thought what I must have always been calling sinularia was really nephthea. Actually as long as it thrives, ( which so far it seems to be)I don't care what it is called! LOL
 
They are very hardy. Only thing I remember about it, was growth reminds me of xenia. They can get fairly large as they get older. At one point mine couldn't handle it's own weight. Then it started dropping babies.
 
Misled said:
They are very hardy. Only thing I remember about it, was growth reminds me of xenia. They can get fairly large as they get older. At one point mine couldn't handle it's own weight. Then it started dropping babies.
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Are they kind of like Kenya tree only in green?
 
I wanted to put this in in case you already viewed the above post. You can tell from the one you have the stalks can get pretty high without polyps. That seems to continue throughout their life. Kenyas tend to have shorter stalks.
 
Misled said:
I wanted to put this in in case you already viewed the above post. You can tell from the one you have the stalks can get pretty high without polyps. That seems to continue throughout their life. Kenyas tend to have shorter stalks.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jesse for the info. I am doing a lot more softies in this current tank because they are easy and I like the way they sway in the flow. We are in Nashville this weekend visiting our son and family. Nashville has 2 interesting coral stores so I am coming home with 7 frags, plus a colt coral and a small Kenya tree. This is good info for me.
 
I went to a local marine expo in my area last weekend and came home with a purple plume gorg. My tank is filling very nicely. Everything I bought in Nashville adjusted well and is thriving except the GSP. It had been peeled from the egg crate and was a freebie, so although I am sad that it didn't make it, I am ok with it.
 
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