I definitely recommend a foxface if you have a rehoming option!I agree it is the worst. I wish I could try a foxface. Thank you everyone for all your advice ill try the strict manual removal and see how it goes. Maybe the crabs will decide to do me a favor
Recently, I added two tiny (~2") onespot foxfaces (Siganus unimaculatus) to my Work Desk 40B tank and they decimated my Caulerpa prolifera in about 2 days. As the name suggests, the prolifera had been prolific and I was hoping to propagate it in the sump as a food source. Now I may need to buy more, as they ate this stuff back to nubs so quickly!
I have not tried them with bubble algae yet (I've got some growing on my ocean live rock at home), but I am quite confident they can eliminate it rapidly as voracious as they are.
Edit: I should mention that I have a direct plan to move these foxfaces to an established tank at home when they outgrow the tank. They still should last a year or more in a tank this size based on my previous experience with a pair of ~2" bicolor foxfaces (Siganus uspi) a year ago that are now only ~3" long and reside in a 40B tank at home currently.