As always--very superb photos. Beautiful cozy, grotto-- private suite for Boss the King.
Yes, Brick is really, really a spooktacular, mega Brickstar. His coloring just keeps getting more--Wow.
I concur with
EntoStentor
that Snails would be a remedy for your algae. I had intended to post you about that today, even before I saw NoobAquarist's post. >>>>Nerite Snails to be specific.
They are Major Turbo Working Algae Cleaner Machines. And they won't touch your aquarium plants, except the smaller Snails will clean your plants of algae. They have a variety attractive of color and patterned shells.
>>> Mystery/Apple Snails also clean algae with fervor. That was a nice surprise of my recent acquisition of a Mystery Snail. Mystery Snails will eat your aquarium plants, but primarily if there is nothing else available. Mine eats lettuce, cooked brocolli and plant wafers, shrimp pellets. Seems to prefer cruising the tank walls eating algae. (Even unnoticed, hard to see algae.)
Mystery snails get a little larger, but you can still get close to as large Nerite Snails.
Nerite Snails live about a year or two and can only breed in saltwater. I try to keep a Nerite in every tank and will sometimes move them between my multiple tanks as valuable assistant cleaning teams.
Apple Snails live 2-4 years and can breed in freshwater. It is recommended you keep one per tank to prevent a snail infestation or keep a pair in a specific separate tank if you intend to breed them.
I just acquired an Assassin Snail to eliminate an unwanted Trumpet Snail infestation. They will eat fish food but their dining passion is other Snails. As soon as I finished acclimating the Assassin Snail and put in the tank, it went right to work in attacking another snail.
Assassin Snails definitely deserve the honorary title of Monster Mollusk.