The 1 Thing Takashi Amano did that YOU Don't

[Art]

Back in 2015, I was thinking about how bad my aquascaping was. I am one of the many that was born without the artistic gene, at least in producing art myself. When I see art (no pun intended ) I can certainly appreciate it. But creating is tough for me. So I was staring at the tank and lamenting out loud when my son walked by:

Me: "Man! I just can't get this aquarium looking good!!"
My son: "Why Dad? Aren't you practicing enough?"

My lightbulb went off and ScapeFu episode 35 was born, The 1 Thing Takashi Amano Does That YOU Don't. TLDR; it's practice aquascaping. Of course, he did it by setting up thousands of aquascapes. We don't have that luxury. So, I came up with the dojo concept which was relatively new back then. I'm sure I wasn't the first to do this but it was new to me.



How do you practice your aquascaping? Are you in the "you get what you get and you don't get upset" group? Or, are you constantly tinkering to try to achieve what your vision is?

And, do you practice?

 

[ayman.roshdy]

During this past year I was practicing by constructing the scape, and in a couple of months destroy everything and re-create another one, this is not practical, not very healthy for the fish plus I never learned how to keep a tank in a healthy shape for longer periods of time

Probably starting next year I will dedicate a single tank to do this every like 2 - 3 months, probably a small tank (50cm x 40cm x 35cm) while leaving the more bigger tanks to live longer to start experiencing better maintenance rountines, better scape and plants care .... etc.

 

[JPog]

That's a neat idea @Art

Yep, I always tinker with a scape initially even after I flood it. Even months later I'll be moving a piece of hardscape or some of the plants around. One important thing is just to have an abundance of hardscape on hand. For example, if your building a five stone iwagumi, it's much harder to build it with five stones, you generally need much, much more to create a really good setup. That is one thing some professionals or people who own aquarium stores, etc have over the typical hobbyist, inventory.

 

[GreggZ]

How do you practice your aquascaping? Are you in the "you get what you get and you don't get upset" group? Or, are you constantly tinkering to try to achieve what your vision is?

And, do you practice?

I've been practicing my technique for many years now...........and still don't think I have got it right!!

Put me in the camp of constantly tinkering. Sometimes it's just small changes, like swapping the position of a few plants here and there. Then other times just removing/adding one or two species at a time. And then once in a while there are big change across the board.

I've posted lots of pictures of my tank over many years and I don't think there is one time where it's been all the same plants in the same place. Sometimes they are subtle changes that no one else would notice. But to me they make a difference.

It's funny sometimes I just sit across from the tank and stare at it. I am looking for clues or inspiration. To me a tank is a like a puzzle you can never solve. Heck at times I drift off to sleep thinking of what it is missing or how it could be better.

You will know you have got it bad when you pull a group of plants that you just got done planting to move them over one inch!

And even with all that time and planning most times I look back at old pics and see nothing but the flaws and how poor it was and how much better it could have been. I guess that's what keeps it interesting over the course of many years. I have a vision of the perfect presentation in my mind but have never quite got there..........well not got there yet anyway. I'm still trying!!

 

[Art]

Thanks guys. I feel very much like you do.

This is why I think the Dutch-inspired stem tanks are gaining in popularity. It is much easier to pull up a stand of plants and re-plant than to undo a mountainscape. Some of the more complicated diorama scapes are so detailed that details is all you can change without a full takedown.

 

[Quagulator]

I used to always start off with hardscape, then plant around it, then eventually remove parts of the hardscape to gain more room for plants until eventually there is no hardscape left, only plants.

I find it funny how I can look at my tank, decide randomly what's "missing" or what needs moved around. I go out, source the right species, only for that species to fail to enjoy my tank parameters, the cycle then must continue.

 

[JPog]

You dutchy planted guys are all the same, so biased against hardscape

 

[GreggZ]

You dutchy planted guys are all the same, so biased against hardscape

LOL ain't it the truth. My story is much like Quag's. Started out a long time ago with bits of rocks and driftwood in the tank. Over the years one by one they all got removed. Last survivor was a large piece of driftwood right in the center of the tank. Lasted much longer than everything else but eventually it had to go too. Now been 100% plants for quite a while.

I find it funny how I can look at my tank, decide randomly what's "missing" or what needs moved around. I go out, source the right species, only for that species to fail to enjoy my tank parameters, the cycle then must continue.

I can very much relate to this. You never know which species will thrive and which will fail. Oddly I find many "difficult" plants easier and many "easy" plants harder. But in the end chasing parameters to please something new usually causes issues with others, so as I have said for years it's best to find plants that like the soup you are serving.

 

[Quagulator]

But in the end chasing parameters to please something new usually causes issues with others, so as I have said for years it's best to find plants that like the soup you are serving.

This is probably the bad habit I need to try and shake.

I just can't give up on a specie that I like, regardless of how poorly it does in my particular tank.

Even if I have similar lighting, dosing, water parameters etc. as another hobbyist, my plants just don't look as good so I keep trying. Eventually I throw the towel in on that particular species, I just need to get on with it sooner rather than later. I am getting better at it however.

But other species I am completely content with, just those odd species I put too much effort towards.

 

[GreggZ]

This is probably the bad habit I need to try and shake.

I just can't give up on a specie that I like, regardless of how poorly it does in my particular tank.

Even if I have similar lighting, dosing, water parameters etc. as another hobbyist, my plants just don't look as good so I keep trying. Eventually I throw the towel in on that particular species, I just need to get on with it sooner rather than later. I am getting better at it however.

But other species I am completely content with, just those odd species I put too much effort towards.

LOL yeah I know some guys that are literally tortured by certain species. One guy I used to talk to a lot was obsessed with getting AR mini perfect. This went on for years and I think it was driving him nuts!

Heck I have never grown AR Mini really well but I don't care. I have lots of other plants that I can work with.

Now the funny thing is I still try some of my "nemesis" every so often. It's like I just have to bang by head against the wall one more time. And every once in a while one surprises me........but that's very rare.

 

[Quagulator]

Heck I have never grown AR Mini really well but I don't care. I have lots of other plants that I can work with.

Oh man I grow the heck out of AR mini. The only problem is it never stays mini... It always reaches 18" + tall and 5-6" across the leaves. I've tried 3-4 different variants of AR - all with the "mini" in their names and it always turns into "AR Grande" for me lol.

 

[JPog]

LOL yeah I know some guys that are literally tortured by certain species. One guy I used to talk to a lot was obsessed with getting AR mini perfect. This went on for years and I think it was driving him nuts!

Heck I have never grown AR Mini really well but I don't care. I have lots of other plants that I can work with.

Now the funny thing is I still try some of my "nemesis" every so often. It's like I just have to bang by head against the wall one more time. And every once in a while one surprises me........but that's very rare.

For me right now that plant is Bacopa salzmannii. I placed it in my high light tank and it just kinda sat there for probably a few months. No algae, just no growth and eventually it started to kinda break apart slowly. I then purchased the SG variant and got the same result.

I took some of the left over scrapes and put them in my less intense setup and they seem to have recovered, just not with rich color. So of course I'm going to place them in my high light tank again, just to torment myself.

 

[OmidNiav]

I admit that I don't have the artistic gene as well but my main issue has been getting stuck in a cycle of tinkering with things and never letting the plants grow enough. Be it purely planted fruit stand tanks or ones with hardscape, it is NEVER perfect! Everything is always a millimeter off and something is always missing.

I would say during the past couple of months I've been feeling a bit burnt out so I stopped tinkering. Just did my maintenance routine and let plants do their thing. I then realized, plants need to "mature" to look good.

Now I have 2 tanks, one is a Dutch (classic, not dutch-inspired!) And one is a farm tank. The Dutch is good for me being my usual strict, black-and-white, anal, etc. and the farm is to just enjoy growing plants.

Practice makes perfect but sometimes letting nature take over and chaos to ensue is not a bad thing.
Omid

 

[Art]

Thanks, @OmidNiav. Strict Dutch is tough but it seems to work for you. That's what's important - find what works for you and perfect it.

I love farm tanks and, for stem growers like me, find it to be almost indispensable. I have to use a separate tank to grow out some trimmings I receive from someone or to nurse a failing plant back to health. As soon as plants kick it into high gear, you end up trimming at least once a week. What do you do with all those trimmings? I hate throwing away plants and I can only give away so much. Into the farm tank they go until I can get them somewhere.

Space limitation is typically the main reason why people don't have a farm tank. But, when they do, it teaches them so much. I really learned to appreciate what wabi sabi means with a farm tank.