What 591 real aquascapes use: plants, hardscape and layout data
MOKIZEN annotated 591 published aquascapes, terrariums and paludariums (mostly 2017–2025) from contest galleries and inspiration sites — IAPLC, the AGA Aquascaping Contest, Tropica, ADA and others. The most common plant group is Aquatic mosses (Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum, Fissidens…), found in 45.9% of layouts; Driftwood is the most common hardscape (54.5%). Iwagumi layouts leave a median 30% open space with 3 plant species, while Dutch layouts leave 5% with 10 species.
Which plants do real aquascapes use most?
| Plant | Share of layouts | Main role | Most used in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquatic mosses (Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum, Fissidens…) | 45.9% (271) | epiphyte | fairy 100%, jungle 60.6%, other 56.5% |
| Eleocharis (dwarf hairgrass) | 33.5% (198) | carpet | iwagumi 57.1%, nature 46.1%, riparium 45.5% |
| Rotala | 29.8% (176) | back | dutch 53.5%, nature 38.8%, planted-lowtech 30.4% |
| Bucephalandra | 27.4% (162) | epiphyte | jungle 37.3%, riparium 36.4%, nature 35.6% |
| Cryptocoryne | 23.5% (139) | fore | dutch 58.1%, planted-lowtech 43.5%, nature 25.1% |
| Anubias | 23.2% (137) | epiphyte | planted-lowtech 47.8%, riparium 36.4%, jungle 35.9% |
| Micranthemum ("Monte Carlo") | 20.8% (123) | carpet | nature 30.6%, iwagumi 22.2%, jungle 19% |
| Vesicularia | 20.3% (120) | epiphyte | nature 31.1%, jungle 22.5%, riparium 18.2% |
| Hemianthus (HC "Cuba", pearlweed) | 18.3% (108) | carpet | nature 27.9%, iwagumi 25.4%, jungle 14.8% |
| Hygrophila | 18.3% (108) | mid | dutch 67.4%, mossarium 20%, nature 18.7% |
| Unspecified carpet plants | 18.3% (108) | carpet | mossarium 30%, nature 26%, iwagumi 20.6% |
| Hydrocotyle (pennywort) | 17.3% (102) | fore | riparium 36.4%, dutch 30.2%, mossarium 25% |
| Ferns (Microsorum / Java fern…) | 16.6% (98) | epiphyte | ancient-town 100%, mossarium 50%, jungle 33.8% |
| Taxiphyllum | 14.9% (88) | epiphyte | jungle 24.6%, planted-lowtech 17.4%, nature 16% |
| Microsorum | 14.7% (87) | epiphyte | riparium 27.3%, planted-lowtech 26.1%, jungle 25.4% |
| Riccardia (coral moss) | 13.5% (80) | epiphyte | riparium 27.3%, nature 20.5%, jungle 16.2% |
| Ludwigia | 12.2% (72) | mid | dutch 48.8%, other 17.4%, mossarium 15% |
| Bolbitis (African fern) | 11% (65) | epiphyte | riparium 18.2%, nature 16.4%, jungle 15.5% |
| Stem | 9.6% (57) | back | nature 14.6%, jungle 9.2%, other 8.7% |
| Fissidens | 9.1% (54) | epiphyte | riparium 27.3%, nature 13.2%, iwagumi 11.1% |
What hardscape do they use?
| Hardscape | Share of layouts | Used as the main feature |
|---|---|---|
| Driftwood | 54.5% | 85.4% |
| Other stone | 19.5% | 41.7% |
| Lava rock | 11.3% | 28.4% |
| Seiryu stone | 11.3% | 74.6% |
| Dragon / Ohko stone | 4.2% | 72% |
| Slate | 2.9% | 70.6% |
| Cork | 2.5% | 60% |
| Spiderwood | 2.2% | 84.6% |
| Karst (tai mèo) stone | 2% | 91.7% |
| Manzanita | 1.5% | 88.9% |
| Cloud-vein | 1.2% | 100% |
| Petrified-wood | 0.7% | 75% |
How do aquascaping styles differ?
| Style | Layouts | Median open space | Median plant species | Depth layers | Golden-ratio focal point | Top plants | Main hardscape |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nature | 219 | 18% | 6 | 4 | 57.5% | Aquatic mosses (Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum, Fissidens…), Eleocharis (dwarf hairgrass), Rotala | Driftwood, Other stone |
| jungle | 142 | 12% | 5 | 4 | 34.5% | Aquatic mosses (Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum, Fissidens…), Bucephalandra, Anubias | Driftwood, Cork |
| iwagumi | 63 | 30% | 3 | 3 | 46% | Eleocharis (dwarf hairgrass), Aquatic mosses (Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum, Fissidens…), Hemianthus (HC "Cuba", pearlweed) | Seiryu stone, Other stone |
| dutch | 43 | 5% | 10 | 3 | 14% | Hygrophila, Cryptocoryne, Rotala | Driftwood |
| other | 23 | 35% | 4 | 2 | 13% | Aquatic mosses (Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum, Fissidens…), Ferns (Microsorum / Java fern…), Hydrocotyle (pennywort) | Driftwood, Other stone |
| planted-lowtech | 23 | 40% | 3 | 2 | 8.7% | Anubias, Cryptocoryne, Rotala | Driftwood, Mangrove |
| biotope | 20 | 22.5% | 2 | 3 | 20% | Eleocharis (dwarf hairgrass), Cryptocoryne, Hydrocotyle (pennywort) | Driftwood, Other stone |
| mossarium | 20 | 27.5% | 5 | 3 | 25% | Aquatic mosses (Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum, Fissidens…), Ferns (Microsorum / Java fern…), Unspecified carpet plants | Driftwood, Lava rock |
| riparium | 11 | 35% | 5 | 3 | 36.4% | Eleocharis (dwarf hairgrass), Bucephalandra, Anubias | Driftwood, Other stone |
| fairy | 11 | 45% | 3 | 2 | 0% | Aquatic mosses (Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum, Fissidens…), Selaginella, Succulent | Other stone, Driftwood |
| desert | 9 | 40% | 3 | 2 | 22.2% | Echeveria, Aquatic mosses (Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum, Fissidens…), Succulent | Driftwood, Petrified-wood |
Which plants are planted together?
| Pair | Layouts | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Eleocharis (dwarf hairgrass) + Rotala | 86 | 1.46 |
| Ferns (Microsorum / Java fern…) + Aquatic mosses (Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum, Fissidens…) | 80 | 1.78 |
| Bucephalandra + Aquatic mosses (Vesicularia, Taxiphyllum, Fissidens…) | 77 | 1.04 |
| Bucephalandra + Eleocharis (dwarf hairgrass) | 75 | 1.38 |
| Bucephalandra + Rotala | 73 | 1.51 |
| Micranthemum ("Monte Carlo") + Rotala | 72 | 1.97 |
| Anubias + Bucephalandra | 71 | 1.89 |
| Eleocharis (dwarf hairgrass) + Vesicularia | 71 | 1.77 |
| Anubias + Eleocharis (dwarf hairgrass) | 63 | 1.37 |
| Bucephalandra + Micranthemum ("Monte Carlo") | 62 | 1.84 |
Lift above 1 means the two appear together more often than chance.
How big are the tanks?
Median aquarium width 120 cm (middle half 75–120 cm, n=452). Substrate: sand 34.3%, aquasoil 20.5%, mixed 19.1%, gravel 15.6%, soil 5.6%, leaf-litter 3%. Lighting look: bright 59.9%, shafts 13.9%, dim 13.9%, dappled 12.4%.
Method and sources
Each layout was annotated by hand (plants and their role, hardscape, composition, tank size) from its published photo; only these aggregate numbers are published, not the images. Sources: IAPLC (International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest) galleries (182); Aquatic Gardeners Association (AGA) Aquascaping Contest showcase (144); Other published layouts (140); Tropica (Denmark) inspiration layouts (48); Vietnamese aquascaping communities and shops (42); Vivarium / paludarium galleries (NEHERP and others) (21); ADA — Aqua Design Amano (Japan) (14). Dataset updated 2026-09-17; page generated .
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