The master, Takashi Amano

I recently discovered this thriving sub-culture of aquascaping and have been fixated ever since. Words cannot describe how incredible these living works of art are, thankfully there’s plenty of pictures!

The Contest
Since 2001, the International Aquatic Plant Layout Contest (IAPLC) has attracted Aquascapers from all over the globe. It is the largest planted aquarium aquascaping contest in the world and is organized by the number one planted aquarium company, Aqua Design Amano.

10th place, Hiroyuki Yamabe, Japan

Highlights
– 2008 boasted 1170 entries from 47 countries around the globe, the highest number of entries since it began in 2001
– The grand prize winner of last year’s contest was Mr. Cheng Siu Wai of Hong Kong. The 2007 winner was also from Hong Kong
– The top aquascapes will be displayed at the Nature Aquarium Party held in Tokyo

The Judging
– The layouts are evaluated by 18 judges chosen internationally and then the year’s world rankings are determined
– The highest score of grading is 200 points and judging criteria mainly consists of: Artistic Impression Points (maximum 100 points) and Technical Points (maximum 100 points divided into 5 categories of 20 points)
– In this contest, an aquascapist’s skill of long-term maintenance is a strong consideration for judges
– Careful attention is paid to observe how long the layout has been kept in a healthy condition (e.g. the use of emerged plants and house plants which hardly survive in the water becomes the subject of point deduction)

Highlights from the 2008 International Aquatic Plant Layout Contest

1st place Cheng Sui Wai, Hong Kong


2nd place Yutaka Kanno, Japan

3rd place Hsu Yung Lin, Taiwan


5th place Long Tran Hoang, Vietnam


13th place Toshiharu Ishiwata, Japan

104 Incredible Images can be found here
Download the AquaScaping World September 2008 Issue here [pdf]
Official 2008 IAPLC Press Release [pdf]

If you enjoyed this article, the Sifter highly recommends: The World’s Second Largest Aquarium Tank in Okinawa, Japan