Category: Styles

The Dutch style is the oldest school of aquascaping: a dense, hardscape-free display built entirely from plants. Where other styles lean on rock and driftwood, a Dutch tank throws them out and lets tiered rows of contrasting stem plants, the famous “Dutch streets”, carry the whole composition. It’s gardening underwater, not landscaping.

Where it comes from

The style grew up in the Netherlands around the Dutch aquarists’ society, the NBAT (Nederlandse Bond Aqua Terra), founded in 1930. In 1956 the NBAT published the first formal guidelines defining a Dutch aquascape. That pedigree shows. A proper Dutch scape is a manicured underwater garden rather than a wild slice of nature, judged on tidiness, contrast and plant health as much as on beauty.

What makes a tank “Dutch”

Take away the rocks and wood, and a handful of rules do the heavy lifting:

• Dutch streets. Diagonal rows of plants, graded low to tall, that lead the eye into the tank: planted along a sightline rather than straight across the glass.
• Groups, not specimens. Each species sits in a defined clump, never dotted around, so colours and leaf textures read as solid blocks.
• Colour and contrast. Reds against greens, fine leaves against broad ones. A single red group often does the job a focal rock would in another style.
• Variety and density. The early NBAT guidelines asked for at least ten plant species per 100 litres, so there is little open space and no bare hardscape on show.

The plants that do the work

Dutch scapes live and die on stem plants, which you trim, top and replant constantly to keep those streets sharp. A few workhorses turn up again and again:

Plant	Latin name	Light demand	CO₂ demand	Difficulty
Rotala	Rotala rotundifolia	Low	Low	Easy
Ludwigia repens ‘Rubin’	Ludwigia repens	Medium	Low	Easy
Alternanthera reineckii ‘Rosanervig’	Alternanthera reineckii	Medium	Medium	Medium
Bacopa	Bacopa caroliniana	Low	Low	Easy

Notice the pattern: the colour plants need light to colour. Tropica says Rotala needs good light to produce red leaves, and that Ludwigia ‘Rubin’ colours more intensely in strong light. Alternanthera reineckii goes further, with good light, fertiliser and added CO₂ all named by Tropica as material for its growth and colour. Bacopa caroliniana is the safety net: it has few demands and grows slowly, which Tropica says makes it one of the few stem plants that do not need much attention.

Is the Dutch style for you?

Be honest with yourself about trimming. A Dutch tank is one of the most maintenance-heavy styles there is: those streets only look crisp because someone prunes and replants them on a schedule, often weekly once the plants take off. If you find pruning meditative, it’s deeply satisfying work. If you want set-and-forget, a low-tech Walstad tank or a simple Iwagumi will frustrate you far less.

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Dutch style questions

Is the Dutch style harder than other aquascaping styles?

Generally yes, though the work is in maintaining it rather than setting it up. The look depends on dense stem plants, and keeping them tidy means regular trimming, topping and replanting. The skill is in the upkeep, not the initial layout.

Do you need CO₂ for a Dutch aquascape?

Not for every plant. Tropica rates Rotala, Ludwigia ‘Rubin’ and Bacopa as low CO₂ demand, but Alternanthera reineckii needs added CO₂ for growth and colour. You can build a greener, simpler version without it, but the classic vivid Dutch look usually leans on plants like that.

What’s the difference between Dutch and Nature Aquarium styles?

Hardscape. A Nature Aquarium is built around rock and driftwood arranged to evoke a landscape, with plants supporting that structure. A Dutch tank uses no hardscape at all. The plants are the design, arranged like beds in a formal garden rather than a wild scene.

Sources: Fin & Stem, A history of aquascaping; Tropica, Rotala rotundifolia; Tropica, Ludwigia repens 'Rubin'; Tropica, Alternanthera reineckii 'Rosanervig'; Tropica, Bacopa caroliniana.

The Nature Aquarium is the style most people picture when they imagine aquascaping: driftwood and rock arranged to evoke a real landscape such as a forest, a hillside or a riverbank, with plants softening the structure until it looks grown rather than built. It’s the style Takashi Amano made famous, and the one the others are usually measured against.

Where it comes from

The Nature Aquarium was developed by the Japanese photographer and designer Takashi Amano, whose company ADA still sets much of the aesthetic standard through its annual international layout contest. Amano borrowed from Japanese garden design and the idea of capturing the feeling of a natural scene in miniature, suggesting a place rather than copying one exactly. The minimalist, stone-only Iwagumi layout is really a sub-style within this broader approach.

What defines it

• Hardscape first. Driftwood and rock set the structure before a single plant goes in: the layout should read as a landscape even bare.
• Asymmetry and a focal point. Built on the rule of thirds, with the eye led to one dominant feature rather than a centred, symmetrical scene.
• Depth. Foreground carpets, midground detail and taller background planting create the illusion of distance.
• A grown-in feel. Mosses and epiphytes soften the wood until it looks aged, not placed.

The plants that suit it

Because the hardscape leads, much of the planting is epiphytes and mosses lashed to wood and rock, which is why dragon stone turns up so often in these layouts: its crevices hold moss and give a rhizome something to grip. These do not root in substrate and they age the layout well:

Plant	Latin name	Light demand	CO₂ demand	Difficulty
Anubias nana	Anubias barteri var. nana	Low to high (Flowgrow)	Not needed (Flowgrow)	Easy
Java fern	Leptochilus pteropus	Low	Low	Easy
Bucephalandra	Bucephalandra sp.	Low	Low	Easy
Christmas moss	Vesicularia montagnei	Medium	Low	Medium

Carpets and stem plants then fill the floor and background. Branching spider wood is a favourite for the canopy effect, with Java fern and Anubias attached along its length.

Nature Aquarium vs the others

Set it beside a Dutch tank and the contrast is stark: Dutch is a formal garden with no hardscape and tidy plant rows, while a Nature Aquarium is a wild landscape held together by wood and stone.

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Nature Aquarium questions

Is the Nature Aquarium style good for beginners?

It can be. The epiphytes and mosses it leans on are hardy and low-tech, so a simple version is achievable early. The harder part is the composition. Arranging hardscape that reads as a believable landscape takes practice rather than equipment.

What’s the difference between Nature Aquarium and Iwagumi?

Iwagumi is a minimalist, stone-only sub-style with usually a single carpet plant. The Nature Aquarium is the broader school it sits inside, and freely uses driftwood and a wider mix of plants.

Do you need CO₂ for a Nature Aquarium?

It depends on the planting. A moss-and-epiphyte layout can run low-tech, but the detailed, carpet-heavy contest-style tanks almost always use added CO₂ and strong light to get that lush, filled-in look.

Sources: Flowgrow, Anubias barteri var. nana; Tropica, Anubias barteri var. nana; Tropica, Microsorum pteropus (Java fern); Tropica, Bucephalandra diabolica 'Kedagang'; Tropica, Vesicularia montagnei 'Christmas Moss'.

The jungle style is aquascaping’s wild child: dense, overgrown and deliberately untamed. Where other styles prize clean lines, the jungle look leans into controlled chaos, with big leaves, trailing growth and a canopy of floating plants, and any hardscape long since swallowed by greenery. It’s the most forgiving style to live with, and arguably the most relaxing to look at.

The look

What marks a tank as jungle rather than just untidy:

• Big, bold foliage. Large swords and broad crypts, not fine carpets.
• Layered overgrowth. Plants allowed to grow tall and lean, filling the water column.
• Floating cover. Surface plants throwing dappled shade, like a forest canopy.
• Hidden structure. Rock and wood are there, but mostly concealed by growth.

Plants for a jungle

Reach for large, hardy plants that look good a little unruly:

Plant	Latin name	Light demand	CO₂ demand	Difficulty
Amazon sword	Echinodorus grisebachii	Low	Low	Easy
Java fern	Leptochilus pteropus	Low	Low	Easy
Cryptocoryne wendtii	Cryptocoryne wendtii	Low (Aquasabi)	Not needed (Aquasabi)	Easy
Amazon frogbit	Limnobium laevigatum	Low	Low	Easy
Vallisneria	Vallisneria spiralis	Low	Low	Easy

Tall Vallisneria fills the back wall, the Amazon sword anchors the midground, and floating plants like frogbit complete the canopy. Tropica rates the sword, the frogbit and Vallisneria all low for light demand, which is what makes the style so easy-going.

The forgiving upside

Because the look is meant to be a bit wild, the jungle style hides a multitude of sins. You can skip the precise weekly trimming a Dutch tank demands, most of its plants are hardy low-tech species, and an overgrown corner reads as character rather than failure. It’s a great match for a planted-tank beginner who wants lush results without the maintenance treadmill, much like a Nature Aquarium but with less composition pressure.

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Jungle style questions

Is the jungle style good for beginners?

Yes. It is one of the friendliest places to start. The plants are hardy, the look forgives imperfect growth, and there’s no demand for precise trimming or a high-tech setup.

Do you need CO₂ for a jungle aquascape?

No. The plants in the table above are all rated low for CO₂ demand by Tropica, or listed as not needing it by Aquasabi. Added CO₂ isn’t essential to the style.

What’s the difference between jungle and Nature Aquarium styles?

A Nature Aquarium is a deliberately composed landscape. The jungle style is intentionally wilder and less structured. Both look natural, but the jungle embraces overgrowth where the Nature Aquarium controls it.

Sources: Tropica, Echinodorus grisebachii 'Bleherae'; Tropica, Microsorum pteropus (Java fern); Tropica, Limnobium laevigatum; Tropica, Vallisneria spiralis 'Tiger'; Aquasabi, Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green'.

The Walstad method is a way of running a planted tank that largely looks after itself. Diana Walstad set it out in her book Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: ordinary soil under a thin cap, heavy planting from day one, and no CO₂ injection. Plants and soil bacteria, not filters and water changes, keep the water clean.

The idea

Walstad describes it in one line: “My method mimics nutrient-cycling in nature. It uses plants to keep the fish healthy by recycling fish wastes. In turn, fish and ordinary soil provide the nutrients that plants need.” Her book adds that well-fed fish mean the plants don’t need chemical fertilisers, and that bacteria and fish, not injected gas, supply the plants’ CO₂.

Get the balance right and there is little left to do. In the book she writes that her own aquariums often go six months or more without a water change, and that routine care comes down to topping up evaporated water and pruning.

How to set one up

• Soil: potting soil or ordinary garden soil, which Walstad says ideally shouldn’t be mixed or heavily fertilised. In a 2009 interview she recommended a 2.5 cm underlayer of unfertilised soil, and she warns that soil laid too deep can turn anaerobic and kill the roots.
• A thin cap: just enough sand or gravel to hold the soil down. Walstad says a thick gravel layer does little to stop the soil releasing things into the water, and makes problems more likely.
• Plants, lots of them, from day one: enough fast-growing species to soak up the soil’s early burst of nutrients. Floating plants help, and she calls frogbit vital for controlling algae in two of her tanks.
• No CO₂ injection and no chemical fertilisers: fish food and soil feed the plants.
• Enough light, not excess: Walstad says most submerged plants are shade plants and that excess light only stimulates algae. She runs a 12 to 14 hour day with a 2 to 4 hour lights-off “siesta” at midday, which she says helps control algae in tanks without CO₂.

Leave out driftwood that sits on the soil. Walstad skips it in her own tanks because it smothers the soil layer and shrinks the planted area.

The first few weeks

This is the part that decides whether the tank works. Walstad explains that submerged soil goes through “a temporary but explosive release of nutrients–including NH3 (ammonia)” in the first few weeks, and that this period of soil instability warrants frequent water changes. Test for ammonia and change water until it settles.

Cloudy water should not be part of it for long. In her account, the slight haze from newly flooded soil clears by the next day. Cloudiness that lasts is a warning sign. When a reader sent her a photo of a cloudy tank, she blamed a very thick gravel layer and a big piece of driftwood covering the soil, which were suffocating it. Our cloudy water page covers the other causes. The other warning sign is the plants. If they aren’t growing well within the first couple of weeks and algae takes hold, she says the tank may not succeed.

Plants that thrive

Stick to hardy, low-light species that don’t need CO₂:

• Anubias (Anubias barteri var. nana): thrives even in shade, and grows with or without added CO₂.
• Java fern (Leptochilus pteropus): low light, attaches to wood.
• Cryptocoryne wendtii: an easy rosette that may lose leaves after planting before it recovers.
• Floating plants such as Amazon frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum): they take up nutrients and shade the tank while it establishes.
• Bacopa caroliniana: a stem plant with few demands and slow growth, rated low for CO₂ by Tropica.

Walstad’s own experience matches this list, with a caveat. She says Anubias nana, Cryptocoryne wendtii and Java fern take longer to establish but grow well once they do, so pair them with fast growers for the first weeks. The plant ratings chart lets you filter for the low-CO₂ options.

The trade-offs

It is low-effort once established, but the start needs attention, and it is not an instant display tank. You trade the control and vivid colour of a high-tech Dutch layout for simplicity, and the demanding species in our carpet plants guide generally won’t thrive here without CO₂. If you want hands-off and natural, it suits you. If you want a manicured showpiece, look elsewhere. The substrate guide covers how soil compares with inert gravel.

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Walstad method questions

Do you need CO₂ for a Walstad tank?

No. Walstad’s book says her low-tech aquariums have no artificial CO₂ injection. In her words, bacteria and fish provide the CO₂ the plants use.

Do you have to do water changes with the Walstad method?

At the start, yes. Walstad says a new soil tank goes through a temporary period of instability that warrants frequent water changes. Once it settles, very few: she writes that her own tanks often go six months or more without one.

Is the Walstad method good for beginners?

Yes, if you start small. Walstad recommends that beginners start with a one-gallon bowl or a 10-gallon tank, and says the plants you grow will then stock a larger one. Watch ammonia and plant growth closely in the first weeks, which is when these tanks succeed or fail.

Sources: Diana Walstad, Ecology of the Planted Aquarium, fourth edition (2023), preview chapter; Diana Walstad, Updating Ecology of the Planted Aquarium (2020); Diana Walstad, Small Planted Tanks for Pet Shrimp (2023); The Cichlid Stage, Diana Walstad interview (2025); Diana Walstad, 2011 interview; Acuario rosa, interview with Diana Walstad (2009); Tropica, Anubias barteri var. nana; Flowgrow, Anubias barteri var. nana; Tropica, Microsorum pteropus (Java fern); Tropica, Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green'; Tropica, Limnobium laevigatum; Tropica, Bacopa caroliniana; Aquasabi, Appearance of in-vitro plants.

A biotope aquarium sets itself a stricter brief than any other style: recreate one real place. Every fish, plant, rock and piece of wood is chosen because it actually occurs together in a specific natural habitat, whether that is a particular South American stream or a Southeast Asian peat swamp. Accuracy is the point, and beauty is a by-product.

What makes it a biotope

The defining rule is authenticity. A biotope is a deliberate reconstruction of a named environment, down to the water chemistry, not simply a tank with some wood and tannins in it. Many true biotopes are sparsely planted: a blackwater stream is mostly leaf litter, branches and tea-stained water, with barely a green leaf in sight. Restraint is part of the discipline.

A discipline, not a decor

This is where it parts ways with the Nature Aquarium. A Nature Aquarium suggests nature artistically and will happily mix plants from different continents if they look right together. A biotope refuses to: if a species isn’t found in that habitat, it doesn’t go in, however good it would look. It’s the most research-led corner of the hobby, and biotope competitions are judged largely on how faithfully a tank matches the real location.

Matching the region

Plant choice follows geography. A few examples using species from our reference:

• Asian waters: Cryptocoryne wendtii, one of the Sri Lankan crypts, Bucephalandra from Borneo, and Vallisneria spiralis, which Tropica lists as Asian.
• South American waters: Amazon sword (Echinodorus grisebachii), Staurogyne repens and Amazon frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum), all listed by Tropica as South American.
• Blackwater habitats: often almost no plants at all, where the planting is leaf litter and submerged branches.

Whatever the region, the test is the same: would these species actually meet in the wild? If not, what you have is a nature-style tank with good intentions. Browse the other approaches on the styles hub if strict accuracy isn’t your goal.

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Biotope questions

What’s the difference between a biotope and a Nature Aquarium?

A biotope faithfully reproduces a real habitat using only species that live there together. A Nature Aquarium is an artistic impression of nature and mixes plants and hardscape freely for the best look.

Do biotope aquariums need a lot of plants?

Not always. Many authentic biotopes are sparsely planted or have none at all. Leaf litter, wood and the right water often matter more than greenery.

Are biotope aquariums good for beginners?

The tank itself can be simple and low-tech. The hard part is the research. Identifying a real habitat and sourcing only species that belong there is what makes a biotope demanding.

Sources: Tropica, Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Tropica'; Tropica, Bucephalandra diabolica 'Kedagang'; Tropica, Vallisneria spiralis 'Tiger'; Tropica, Echinodorus grisebachii 'Bleherae'; Tropica, Staurogyne repens; Tropica, Limnobium laevigatum.

Iwagumi is a minimalist Japanese aquascaping style built around an odd number of carefully placed stones, usually three, and typically a single carpeting plant. Popularised by Takashi Amano, it prizes open space, asymmetry and one clear focal point, creating a calm, natural-looking underwater landscape rather than a densely planted display.

Where Iwagumi comes from

The word iwagumi means “rock formation” in Japanese, and the style grew out of the Nature Aquarium movement led by Takashi Amano. It borrows directly from Japanese garden design and Zen aesthetics: restraint, balance and the suggestion of a much larger landscape inside a small space. Where a Dutch-style tank is a lush plant showcase, Iwagumi is the opposite. Stone is the star, and the planting is deliberately simple.

The stones and their roles

A classic Iwagumi uses an odd number of stones (three, five or seven) so the layout never falls into symmetry. In a three-stone arrangement each rock has a defined role:

• Oyaishi: the main stone. The largest, set at an angle and placed off-centre as the composition’s single focal point.
• Fukuishi: the second stone. Smaller than the Oyaishi, it sits to one side and balances it.
• Soeishi: the supporting stone. Smaller again, it complements the two main stones rather than competing with them.
• Suteishi: the “sacrificial” stone. The smallest, often partly buried, adding naturalness without drawing the eye.

One more rule of thumb: use a single type of stone throughout, with Seiryu stone and dragon stone the common choices, so the formation reads as one natural outcrop rather than a collection of unrelated rocks.

Composition principles

• The rule of thirds: the Oyaishi sits about a third of the way across, never centred.
• A single focal point: everything guides the eye to the main stone.
• Negative space: open substrate and open water are part of the design, not gaps to fill.

Plants for an Iwagumi

Iwagumi almost always uses one carpeting species, kept low so the stones dominate. That choice decides how technical the tank is: Tropica’s ratings for the common carpets run from easy, with low light and CO₂ demand, to advanced, with high demand for both.

Carpet plant	Latin name	Light demand	CO₂ demand	Difficulty
Dwarf hairgrass	Eleocharis acicularis	Low	Low	Easy
Monte Carlo	Micranthemum tweediei	Medium	Medium	Medium
Dwarf baby tears (HC Cuba)	Hemianthus callitrichoides ‘Cuba’	High	High	Advanced
Glossostigma	Glossostigma elatinoides	High	High	Advanced

Dwarf hairgrass is the easiest starting point, then Monte Carlo. HC Cuba and Glossostigma give the finest carpet but are the most demanding.

Livestock

The open water above the carpet suits small, peaceful schooling fish and shrimp. Ember tetra (Hyphessobrycon amandae), chili rasbora (Boraras brigittae) and Amano shrimp (Caridina multidentata), which also grazes algae, are popular. Because compatibility depends on the full combination of tank size, temperament and water parameters, run any stocking list through a stocking calculator before you buy rather than assuming individual species will get along.

Common mistakes

• Using an even number of stones, or a symmetrical layout.
• Mixing different rock types, which breaks the natural look.
• Filling the open space instead of treating it as part of the design.
• Choosing a demanding carpet without the strong light and CO₂ it needs to grow flat.

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Iwagumi questions

How many stones do you need for an Iwagumi?

An odd number, classically three: the Oyaishi (main), Fukuishi (second) and Soeishi (supporting). That keeps the arrangement asymmetrical. Larger tanks may use five or seven.

Do you need CO₂ for an Iwagumi tank?

It depends on the carpet. Tropica rates dwarf hairgrass as low CO₂ demand, so a low-tech Iwagumi is possible with it. Monte Carlo needs added CO₂ to become really compact, and HC Cuba and Glossostigma are rated high.

What’s the difference between Iwagumi and the Nature Aquarium style?

Iwagumi is a minimalist, stone-only sub-style within the broader Nature Aquarium approach. Nature Aquarium layouts can include driftwood and a wider variety of plants. Iwagumi is rocks plus, typically, a single carpet.

Sources: Tropica, Eleocharis acicularis; Tropica, Micranthemum tweediei 'Monte Carlo'; Tropica, Micranthemum callitrichoides 'Cuba'; Tropica, Glossostigma elatinoides.