Maintaining a beautiful aquascape in the Nature Aquarium Gallery

Having a close look at the aquascape in a beautiful condition is also an attraction of the Nature Aquarium Gallery. Meanwhile regular trimming is essential for maintaining the aquascape but the thickness of the aquatic plants is reduced after trimming.
Therefore in the Nature Aquarium Gallery, the trimming of plants is carried out delicately with artistry as an important consideration.

Trimming for the purpose of maintaining fast-growing stem plants and foreground plants is essential for the Nature Aquarium. The leaves of these aquatic plants become smaller and denser by repeated trimming, thereby enhancing the perfection and beauty of the design. In the case of household aquarium designs, trimming can just be done before the condition of the aquarium deteriorates due to overgrown aquatic plants. However, there are some special conditions for trimming carried out at the Nature Aquarium Gallery taking the viewing of aquarium by visitors into consideration. Firstly, the trimming of plants in too many sections at one time should be avoided. The reason for this is to leave some sections with beautifully-grown thick plants untouched for visitors to appreciate them. Secondly, trimming should not be carried out the day before the gallery is open. This is to provide visitors with an opportunity to have a look at the layout where new buds are developing. To fulfill these conditions, only a limited number of management staff is allowed to be used for trimming the plants used for layout in the Nature Aquarium Gallery under the direction of Takashi Amano (needless to mention, important trimming is done by Takashi Amano himself). Furthermore, the layouts exhibited in the Nature Aquarium Gallery are produced in such a way that even the staff apart from Takashi Amano are able to handle the trimming of aquatic plants with ease. For example, the layouts introduced in this issue can be maintained by trimming stem plants along the outline of the driftwood. Meanwhile the aquatic plants in the middle ground will not be changed, so the viewing of aquarium can be enjoyed immediately after the trimming of stem plants.

A: Repeated trimming is required to develop and maintain beautifully-shaped bushes of stem plants.
B: Carefully arranging the middle ground with relatively slow-growing shade plants helps produce designs that can be appreciated even immediately after trimming.
C: When the terminal buds of stem plants reach the water surface and plants start to overhang along the water surface, they should be trimmed along with the outline of the driftwoods.
D: Stem plants in the background have been cut substantially, but the middle ground consisting of driftwood and shady plants is left untouched.

Aquascape Considering Trimming with Well-Arranged Middle Ground (August, 2003)

The point is red-colored stem plants that can be seen among dark green plants in the middle ground. By laying cosmetic sand in the foreground of the layout, a well-balanced brightness of the entire aquarium is achieved. Aquarium tank size: W120×D45×H60 (cm) Shooting date: August 12, 2003