Algae can disrupt the natural cycles of your tank and make your fish sick. A little algae growth is indicative of a healthy tank, but too much of it means it’s eating up vital nutrients in your aquarium.

However, because algae grow for many different reasons, they can be hard to get rid of. To help you with that problem, here are the best ways to mitigate algae growth in your aquarium, no matter why algae are growing in your tank.

Keep Live Plants

Having live plants in your tank isn’t just great for getting rid of algae—it’s also perfect for making sure the problem doesn’t get out of hand. This is because plants starve out the algae by absorbing most of the nutrients from fish waste, which algae thrive off of. Algae just can’t compete with live plants, so while your plants are growing and absorbing nutrients, this will cause the growth rate of algae to plummet.

Implement a Cleaning Crew

Algae-eating fish, snails, and shrimps are great at cleaning up your tank and keeping it clean. In addition, they’re usually peaceful herbivores that make great tank mates and that breed well, so you won’t have to worry about them fighting for food or territory.

However, you have to be careful when implementing snails in your tank. Snails can quickly breed and multiply, and too many of them will also eat up any live plants you may have, worsening the algae cycle. Therefore, introducing only one or two snails in your tank is best so that your live plants have time to regrow after some light munching.

Perform Regular Maintenance

Changing your water can mitigate algae growth, but it’s often not enough. Regularly testing your water’s phosphate and nitrate levels is best practice. If they’re too high, you’ll know the algae have access to a buffet in your aquarium. This may be because you’re feeding your fish too much, resulting in a lot of phosphate produced from their waste. Either way, it’s the perfect time to monitor your fish’s feeding schedule and use some phosphate-removing chemicals to clean up your tank water.

Now that you know the best ways to mitigate algae growth in your aquarium, you can keep your tank sparkling clean without worrying about algae growth coming back and rearing its ugly head. Plus, you now have an excuse to add new friends to your aquarium!