Takashi Amano is one of the most influential people in the freshwater aquascaping community. He can largely be credited with introducing Japanese gardening concepts such as Wabi-sabi and Zen rock arrangement to the aquascaping hobby. His tank compositions involve intricate, and typically asymmetrical (though balanced) arrangements of aquatic plants often augmented by river rocks and driftwood. His aquascapes are notable in that they often mimic nature in their appearance, and can be regarded as a form of art.
Amano is the author of Nature Aquarium World, a three-book series on aquascaping and freshwater aquarium plants and fish. He has also published the book "Aquarium Plant Paradise".
Amano can also be credited with popularizing the use of Glossostigma elatinoides and Riccia fluitans in aquascaping and the use of shrimp as a means of controlling the growth of algae.
A species of freshwater shrimp is named the “Amano shrimp” or "Yamato shrimp" (Caridina multidentata; previously Caridina japonica) after him. After discovering this species' ability to eat large quantities of algae, Amano asked a local distributor to special order several thousand of them. They have since become a staple in the freshwater planted aquarium hobby.
He has also developed a line of aquarium components that are known as ADA. The ADA line has become one of most respected and admired planted aquarium brands available. His ADA line infused industrial design with science that creates highly functional and beautiful components for the planted tank.
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