Plants are the stars of nature aquariums

In the display tanks of Aqua Forest Aquarium, there is no neon gravel, no miniature plastic castles, no sunken treasure boxes sprinkled with glitter. Instead, owners and brothers George and Steven Lo have created natural replicas of miniature underwater worlds: a branched piece of driftwood draped with dark green moss, a lush undulating fern-filled forest, a peaceful grassy meadow and, in a tiny 5-1/2-gallon tank, a jewel-box water-filled terrarium.

Small fish and shrimp dot these environments, but, like a flock of birds or grazing cattle in a landscape painting, they are only supporting characters. Here, the underwater plants get the attention.

Aqua Forest Aquarium is the first shop in the United States to specialize in the style known as "nature aquarium" -- the idea that rather than simply housing a colorful collection of fish, an aquarium should reflect the beauty, visual harmony, and even tension of a wild landscape.

Plants are the main element, but driftwood and stones are used as well to create a more natural feel. There are other types of planted aquariums, but this design philosophy was developed in the late 1970s by Japanese nature photographer Takashi Amano, whom George Lo describes as "like a god."

Nature aquariums are more popular in Asia, but the trend is taking root in the US. The movement owes its existence to Mr. Amano, who has put out four lavish books about freshwater aquascaping.

He began experimenting with aquariums in his early 20s, inspired by a boyhood playing in the Yoroi wetlands in Japan and later during trips to tropical rain forests in the Amazon, West Africa, and Borneo.

"When I swam in the river, I found many aquatic plants flourishing and fish swimming in schools," he wrote in an e-mail. "Here the plants are the place for spawning, and [a] hiding place for fish."

Underwater, he found a world where plants turned sunlight into oxygen for fish, where nature found balance. "I wanted to create a space where plants and fish coexist in a harmony inside an aquarium tank."

Amano's aquascapes are so dynamic and full of movement they look as if they are going to burst out of the tank. Sometimes they do. It is not uncommon for his plants, stones, and driftwood to pop right out of the top by design.

"Based on my experiences, and exploration to tropical regions, I believe my layout is getting close to the image of nature and natural habitat," Amano says. "In a sense, the layout looks more natural than nature, I think."

Last year George Lo placed 20th in an international competition sponsored by Amano's aquascaping company, ADA. No fewer than 1,342 people from 51 countries submitted photographs of their aquascapes.

George Lo's tank -- the only American entry to place in the top 30 -- was a 170-gallon scene of serenity. A delicate carpet of clover rolled across the foreground as tufts of soft grass rose gently in the background. A thoughtful arrangement of gray stone slabs anchored the green, and a school of small blue and red cardinal tetra fish floated above it all.

George Lo says the iwagumi design, based on a Japanese rock garden layout, took him more than a year to perfect.

He spent weeks on the placement of the stones alone. He wanted them to look as though they had been tossed in a riverbed, resting at the most stable positions. But they were heavy and difficult to move, and if he had dropped one, it could have cracked his tank.

He also had trouble making sure the clover filled out along the bottom correctly. It kept getting leggy.

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