I have a 12 gallon aquapod AIO that has become swamped with bubble algae. Every square inch of the rocks and most of the back of the tank are bubble algae. I've tried emerald crabs and manually removing the algae to no avail.
I have one emerald crab, but I've never actually observed it feeding on the bubble algae. All the other emerald crabs I've added have been murdered by the gorilla crab. I could remove the gorilla and add more emeral crabs, but I'm not that confident that they'll even make a dent on the bubble algae.
Manually removing the algae works, but there is so much of it and it recovers the rock in about a week. It's just not sustainable for me to remove it manually.
I would like to get a small tuxedo urchin, but I'm not sure if my tank is big enough. I hear they eat coralline algae, but I have no coralline because most surfaces are just covered in bubble algae.
Are there any other options?
I have one emerald crab, but I've never actually observed it feeding on the bubble algae. All the other emerald crabs I've added have been murdered by the gorilla crab. I could remove the gorilla and add more emeral crabs, but I'm not that confident that they'll even make a dent on the bubble algae.
Manually removing the algae works, but there is so much of it and it recovers the rock in about a week. It's just not sustainable for me to remove it manually.
I would like to get a small tuxedo urchin, but I'm not sure if my tank is big enough. I hear they eat coralline algae, but I have no coralline because most surfaces are just covered in bubble algae.
Are there any other options?