Iwagumi Aquascape

The Iwagumi layout is one of the most challenging aquascaping styles out there. Developed around 30 years ago by famous aquarist Takashi Amano, this type of aquascape represents not just a minimalist layout, it also reflects the Japanese culture, spirituality and love for beauty and simplicity. The Iwagumi term itself comes from the Japanese ‘rock formation’ and it refers therefore to a layout where stones play the leading role. Rocks provide the ‘bony’ structure of the aquascape and the traditional geography is a design made of three main stones, out of which one large headstone and two small others.