This article is contributed by Birgit Fruehwirth

In recent years the term aquascaping has become better known by aquarists all over the world. The big man from Japan, Takashi Amano started with his books, a new style in aquaristic art. The simple gathering of aquatic plants, beautiful stones and driftwood is no longer the goal of many aquarists. Aquascaping has become a valued art.

This article is based on the style and ideas of the Nature Aquarium, combined with my very own opinions and experiences. It is always a question of personal preferences on what type of aquascape you try to achieve. Many people just love those good looking Japanese aquascapes, but they don’t feel able to achieve it. It is not a question of experience whether you can do it or not. It is no more difficult to have a beautiful Nature Aquarium than it is to have a normal planted tank. It is just the careful selection of aquatic plants and accessories that makes the difference. So many people just don´t have enough self confidence to try it. This article will give you a very compact guideline. Follow the rules and you will achieve your goal.

Amanos Nature Aquarium (NA) is often misunderstood. It is not the aim of the NA to reproduce nature biotopes of special regions. It is more the goal of creating an underwater landscape. A landscape seen before in real nature, not under water.
I myself started, trying to copy some of Amano’s works. But soon I realized that you couldn’t copy anything that has to do with living beings. Nevertheless it is good for practicing to start with copying an aquascape you really like. You will automatically use the right plants, place the stones correctly and create some free space, which will give your tank more depth of field. With time, you will develop your own style, and sometimes you will like it even more than the one you tried to copy.

Then you start your new setups by thinking of a landscape you once saw and really liked. This may be just an accumulation of stones in the mountains, or a huge clearance in a wood. Everyone has his own preferences, so everyone will choose another landscape and get his own style.
In Nature Aquarium, plants AND fishes are the centerpiece of a tank. In providing the best conditions for your plants to grow, you usually do the same for your fishes. When the plants have everything they need to grow well, at the same time they provide the best conditions for your fishes. Plants use up excessive nutrients in the water that may cause Nitrate levels to spike, and they produce oxygen, which is indispensable to the life of fishes.

If you wish to know more about creating those beautiful aquascapes you have seen in books or on the net and you never thought you could achieve, please read on more on aquascaping with aquatic plants here.