Mindscape In Cyberspace

After these dedicated years of Nature Aquariums and Natural Aquascapes, I decided to explore a comparatively new area of this fascinating hobby - Creative Aquascaping!

[Check out one of my previous Natural Aquascapes here]

Apparently, there are not too many differences between Natural Aquascaping and Creative Aquascaping.

In Natural Aquascapes we try to simulate an underwater scenario, sometimes specific to a particular biotope, sometimes a fancy combination of various species! But, every bit of the process is aimed to make the tank look like a natural underwater environment. But Creative Aquascapes are rarely aimed to simulate an underwater scenario. It’s like creating any landscape with a glass tank filled with water, live aquatic plants, fishes and props like stones & driftwoods!

Another thing I noticed is, in Creative Aquascaping photographing your tank is also very important. Thematic light settings, translucent backgrounds with vignette, placement of props are also very critical issues, in Creative Aquascaping. It’s not only about growing healthy plants or make your tank look like natural river bed! It’s a search beyond that! It’s about creating an ambiance, a mood or a moment.

The most interesting thing, I noticed, in most cases, Creative Aquascapes are made for much shorter period than Natural Aquascapes.

I decided to go for Nano aquascape, for initial experimentation. Nanos might be difficult but I can keep quite a few to try out different layouts with different plant species.

I have started writing a series of articles on how to set up a healthy planted aquarium and other various useful tips in my Nature Aquarium Blog. The second post of this Planted Aquarium Tips series has been just added on my Nature Aquarium Blog and it deals with the pros and cons of pruning the plants in your aquarium. The first post of this Planted Aquarium Tips series was on the ideal substrate for a planted tank and the post can be viewed here. I have been getting positive responses and encouraging notes from the readers, since I started this Nature Aquarium Blog. It seems that serious aquarium hobbyists from various corners of the world are finding this Nature Aquarium Blog and the photographs and information, helpful. This is the reason why I try to bring out little time from my daily schedule to update my Nature Aquarium Blog with information and experiences I have gathered in past years as a serious aquarist.

Internet, being the best resource for virtually any subject under the sun, is also a great resource for aquarium hobbyists. People have been sharing their knowledge and experiences with others on various online forums and communities for years. These forums, like the Krib, fins.actwin.com, IAH, Aquatic Plant Central etc are now being considered as the most valuable online resource for aquarium and fish keeping.