The art of keeping aquatic plants has become increasingly popular every year in America, and a vast variety of aquascaping techniques are now available.

The most commonly found style among American aquatic plant enthusiast is a hybrid of the Nature and the Dutch design ideals. Some may favor one over the other, but whether you like a lush stem plant tank or a very clean-cut minimalist design, a beautiful aquascape is our common goal.

One of the mistakes I made in the past was to fill the tank with as many species of plants as I could find, in an effort to make it as striking as possible. I soon realized that only a few of my friends, who were also plant enthusiast found this interesting the casual observer just, complimented the fish. So I started to listen to the people who didn't know anything about aquatic plants, and tried to please them. I found that the use of rocks and driftwood, an integral part of the Nature aquarium technique, worked very well. The tanks were much more appealing, but in many cases, a splash of color was needed to bring life to the design. That is when the aquatic plants used in Dutch aquascaping can be helpful.
The blending of all these ideas is what makes aquascaping fun and interesting.