# Freshwater Aquariums > New To the Hobby ? >  ways to beat algae

## lost

Not my work but i thought it might be useful to any one who has this prob
*Algae eating shrimp*
This see-through, unassuming  freshwater shrimp  eats algae tirelessly 24/7 while leaving plants alone, and even cleans your sand or gravel too. 
*Algae-eating fish*
Algae-eating fish are adapted to do just that and, if your tank will accommodate one, youll get a dual-purpose pet and cleaner all in one fish.
The most famous algae eaters are the loriacariid catfish or the suckermouths, or plecs as they are commonly known. Choose a species that wont outgrow your tank and make sure you provide suitable alternatives to algae when the green menace runs out.
Common algae-eating suckermouths include Bristlenose, Otocinclus and the Common plec, though the latter arent advised as they outgrow all but the largest aquaria and make quite a mess too. 
*Plants
*Natures battling plants steal the algaes light source and starve it of nutrients. Few well-balanced planted tanks will have any trace of algae and any levels of nitrate or phosphate either. Plant heavily, stock lightly with fish and your algae problem may go away all by itself. 
*Use less light
*An obvious tactic, but not to be underestimated. Algae needs light to survive, so less of it will usually mean less algae. Lighting is getting better and brighter, though if you dont have a tank of plants or corals that need it, you will get algae. 
*Dont introduce it!
*This sounds obvious, but it will pay dividends long term if you dont allow algae into your tank in the first place. 
If they havent been kept well at the shop, aquatic plants may bring in algae on their leaves. These strains include Black beard algae (BBA), the notorious Blue green algae (BGA) which is actually a bacteria, and diatoms, which look like little spots on leaves. 
Introduce BGA and you are almost guaranteed that it will manifest itself, usually on the substrate, and will prove near possible to eradicate.  Rinse all pre-soaked bogwood
*RO water
*Great for fresh or saltwater, and especially for soft water set-ups, RO (reverse osmosis) water can be very useful. 
If using tapwater you are often off to a bad start straight away, as this is full of fertilisers like nitrate and phosphate that will fuel algae growth from the second you put it in.
Purify mains tapwater through an RO unit and those pollutants are removed, leaving you with pure base water that wont cause algae. 
*Floating plants
* They are great for stopping algae too. First they shade it by spreading across the surface and blocking out bright light. Then they starve out the algae, like their aquatic counterparts, by soaking up all that spare nitrate and phosphate and feeding themselves with it instead. 
*Algae-eating snails*
Known as traditional algae eaters, some snails are better than others. The streamlined Nerites  are great for grazing short, green algae from smooth rocks, and can be very attractive too.
Avoid Apple snails if you want a grazer. Keep them as pets instead, as they arent very good at cleaning.
*Algae treatments
*Often a last resort, a liquid or tablet can be added to the aquarium to try to kill off stubborn algae. However, it wont remedy the original cause of the algae, so all too often the menace returns. 
*Phosphate remover
*Phosphate build-up in anything but a heavy planted tank will fuel algae growth and phosphate remover is well known and widely used.
Available usually as a granular product to place in a fine net bag in your filter, it soaks up phosphate and locks it away. You then discard the saturated resin and add more.

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