The natural habitats of coral reefs and marine life are so beautiful that replicating them has become an art, a hobby, and even a competition.
Aquascaping is the art of reconstructing a natural marine habitat with the strategic arrangement of plants, stones, and marine invertebrate in an aquarium. One might refer to aquascaping as underwater gardening.
The styles of aquascapes differ from the use of lush plants with exquisite colors to more sterile lay-outs where rocks and stones are the primary elements. There are freshwater and salt water aquascapes in which fauna, plants and stones are carefully chosen to reconstruct and support life.
When aquarium equipment became more widely available in the Netherlands in the 1930’s, Dutch style freshwater aquascaping began. The Dutch aquascape favors the use of large plants with a feather-like appearance. In these underwater gardens, over 80 percent of the aquarium space displays a variety of plants nestled on driftwood at different angels and heights. These colorful plant arrangements make a Dutch style aquascape very pleasing to the eye.
The nature style aquascape is also referred to as Japan style because it’s modeled after Japanese gardening techniques. Takashi Amano is a renowned aquarist and pioneer of Japan style aquascapes. His contributions to this craft include Zen rock arrangements and other Japanese oriented concepts.
Nature aquascapes depict a natural landscape by asymmetrical arrangement of specific stones, driftwood and plants. They differ from the Dutch style because the forms are arranged with the Japanese minimalistic concept of beauty. Colorful or exotic looking plants aren’t typically characteristic of a nature aquascape.
Aquascapes that recreate a geographic location or aquatic habitat are known as Biotope aquascapes. There are Amazon and general Biotopes. The only parameter for a viable Biotope is that stones, plants and marine life used must be found in the modeled habitat. Use of plants or calculated rock placement isn’t mandatory to these aquascapes.
Dutch and nature style aquascapes are freshwater habitats, but salt water reef aquascapes are made as well. Live rocks create the foundation of the layout and the aquarium is filled with corals and marine invertebrate that would appear in or around a salt water reef.
Fluorescent microorganisms used in salt water reefs make these displays colorful and exciting. Proper lighting techniques to sustain life of the organisms are vital. Lighting also augments the fluorescent glow that the micro-organisms emit.
Competitions exist to bring together international aficionados of aquascapes. The third annual Malaysian International Ornamental Aquatic Industry Exhibition and Conference will be held from 25th-28th November at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center in Malaysia.
This Exhibition and Conference will include an aquascaping competition and seminars on topics such as Biosecurity in the Ornamental Aquatic Industry, Health Issues in Breeding and Transport of Ornamental Fish, and Research and Development in Ornamental Aquatic Industry. Takishi Amano, the father of Japanese style aquascaping, will also host a workshop on nature style on 26th November.
The Malaysian International Ornamental Aquatic Industry Exhibition and Conference is important to the future of the aquatic industry and to the ethical concerns surrounding the use of ornamental fish in aquascaping. Aquascaping competitions and crafts can be fun recreational activities but standards for transport, respect for biodiversity and ethics are essential to the practice.
Aquatic habitats are fundamental elements of selected ecosystems and modeling these ecosystems has become a hobby for people around the world. Aquascaping presents another example of the important role that water environments play in the lives of people. Replicating these habitats is very entertaining, creative and educational. It fosters respect for the timeless natural territory of ornamental fish and marine invertebrate.
