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Aquascaping wave: Creating underwater beauty in a home aquarium
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Underwater art: Putut Bayu, the manager of Nickz Aquascape in South Tangerang, Banten, says that some clients order aquascapes with specific themes, like this one with a bonsai theme. (Courtesy of Putut Bayu) (Personal collection/Courtesy of Putut Bayu)
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lants, fish and an aquarium. Some consider aquascapes to be merely fancy aquariums, but they couldn’t be more wrong. It is an art form, and owing to the growing number of enthusiasts over the years, the aquascape industry is growing in profitability as well.
It is easy to look at aquascaping as a hobby, but it is much more than that to its most dedicated and ardent practitioners, or aquascapers.
"Aquascaping is an art form in an aquarium that utilizes natural resources, blending art and science," said Riswandi, a long-time enthusiast who owns aquascaping business Aquair in Depok, West Java.
To put it simply, aquascaping can be defined as the craft of creating an esthetic, aquatic landscape in an aquarium.
There are two general styles, Dutch and Japanese. The former style is evocative of flower gardens, employing colors, leaves and textures to compose an artistic underwater ecosystem. The latter style seeks to evoke the impression of terrestrial landscapes and draws heavily from the esthetic concept of wabi-sabi, which centers on the constancy of transitoriness and imperfection as beauty, the beauty of ever-changing nature.
Indonesia has long adopted the Dutch style, possibly since its conception in the 1930s, being a former Dutch colony and all. The Japanese style, however, didn’t become known in the country until around the 2010s, and it exploded in popularity with the pandemic’s arrival.
According to Ridwandi, the aquascaping market has two consumer segments: hobbyists and enjoyers. Hobbyists spend their time learning about the dos and don'ts, which plants suit what style and which fish will survive in what environment. Meanwhile, enjoyers tended to buy ready-made aquascape kits and avoid the hassle of selecting and arranging plants, rocks, fish and other elements themselves.
