Are you thinking of aquascaping your freshwater aquarium? With so many different styles and types to choose from. It can be difficult to decide on which style you’d like to go with.
The most popular styles of aquascapes are Iwagumi, Dutch, Nature, Jungle, Biope, and Diorama styles. Each style has its own unique theme and design usually associated with that particular style of aquascaping.
And there are plenty of other styles you can use as inspiration for your own aquascapes. Those 6 I’ve listed above are just more of the popular types of aquascapes people like to go with.
And you can always get inspiration from particular styles and create your own unique design. At the same time, there are general rules and guidelines aquascapers like to follow.
But there is no aquascape police to stop you from running wild with any of your creative ideas. So feel free to get creative and try to create something new! I think this is one of the best aspects of this hobby.
With that being said, let’s do a quick dive into each of the different styles of aquascapes and what makes them so unique.
What Are The Different Styles Of Aquascapes
When talking about styles or types of aquascapes, it can get a bit confusing. Some styles are subsets of a bigger theme or style.
For example, a Jungle-style aquascape can fall under a biotope-style aquascape. Some might argue that it can even fall into the nature style as well, depending on who you talk to.
A hillside or mountainside-style aquascape can fall under the Iwagumi style or nature style.
So bear in mind that the lines of where a certain style starts and another one begins can get a little blurred.
Iwagumi Style
This style is one of my favorites. There is a minimalistic design and feeling to these aquascapes. It’s all about creating an aquascape using rocks as your hardscape. You won’t find any wood, driftwood, or branches here.
There is almost a zen-like feeling when looking at an iwagumi-style aquascape. Usually, you’ll see very little variety of plants being used in this type of aquascape. The main focal point is the arrangement of the rocks within the aquarium. Most Iwagumi-style aquariums also have a beautiful green carpeting plant to go along with it.
Dutch Style
There are certain specific rules you’ll want to follow if you want to create a true “Dutch Style” aquascape.
Simply put, a Dutch-style aquarium uses no hardscape. Meaning no wood, driftwood, branches, rocks, or stones will be found in a Dutch-style design.
Instead, the focus is on how you arrange your aquatic plants in the aquarium. The main plants you want to focus on will be the arrangement of different types and colors of stem plants along with your mid-ground and fore-ground plants.
And it’s common to see a blend of the Dutch style being used along with other themes.
Unless you are entering a competition, there are no real rules you need to follow. So don’t be afraid to get creative with your designs…
Nature Style
The goal of a nature-style aquascape is to capture a piece of nature within your aquarium. You want to be able to create a design that truly captures the essence of nature.
This is all about pleasing your eye as the aquarist, and you are free to use whatever plants, rocks, stones, or branches are at your disposal to create this vision of yours.
There are so many amazing nature-style aquascapes you can find all over the internet for inspiration.
Jungle Style
Similar to the nature style, and some might even argue that this can be a subset of the nature style, is the jungle-style aquarium.
This is where you essentially try to capture the wilderness of a jungle within your aquarium.
Some people like to give their jungle-style tanks some tannins to give the water that brackish look and feel you would expect to see in a jungle-themed aquarium.
Biotope Style
The biotope style is not really focused on a certain design. Obviously, you can design this tank how you want, but the main focus of a biotope aquascape is to recreate the environment of the livestock you plan on keeping in the tank.
Your goal is basically to try and replicate the environment in which your livestock is found in nature. This means getting close to the exact plants, wood, stones, and water parameters your livestock would live in in the wild.
Other Aquascaping Styles, Themes, and Types
- Taiwanese Style
- Brazillian Style
- Diorama Style
- Mountain Range Theme
- Hillside Them
And there are plenty of others to choose from as well. What I’ve listed above are just the most popular and common types of aquascapes people like to do.
Unless you plan on entering an official competition, there are no rules you need to follow. You are free to mix and match styles. Blend different types together and maybe create your own unique style.
And that brings me to my last point…
Finding Your Own Aquascaping Style
What’s great about aquascaping is the creativity and freedom it allows you to express. By all means, you can use those styles as a guideline or an inspiration to start aquascaping.
But there is no need to follow that style to the letter unless you plan on entering a competition. If you are just doing this as a hobby, feel free to get creative and create something you enjoy.
At the end of the day, this is your hobby, and you are creating an aquarium for you to enjoy. So do whatever pleases your eye and makes you happy at the end of the day.
Final Thoughts On The Different Types Of Aquascapes
I hope you were able to get your question answered on the different types and styles of aquascapes you can build.
The 6 I’ve listed up top are the most common and popular types to go with, but remember they are not the only types of aquariums you can design.
Be sure to browse the web and take a look at different aquascaping designs on social media like Instagram, youtube, Pinterest, etc.
This is a great way to get inspiration for your next aquascape, and if you are an absolute beginner, this is a good way to figure out what design you want to go with.
Just be sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew with your first-time aquascaping. Try to go with a design you’ll like but that is easy to create and maintain.