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The Dutch aquarium

All the important info about the Dutch style

By Aram Schneider Published Updated

Translated from German with AI assistance and reviewed by our editors.

In contrast to the Nature Aquarium or aquascaping, the Dutch aquarium follows a path of its own when it comes to designing an aquarium with aquatic plants. We present what this special type of planted aquarium is all about in more detail in our article here.

The history of the Dutch aquarium

The "Dutch style", or Dutch aquarium, is a particular style in planted aquarium keeping that has its origins in the 1960s and 1970s. Typical are not only the layout design in the aquarium but also certain components in the aquarium equipment and furnishings used. Typical for that era, for example, were rustic wood paneling around the tank, which made the aquarium match the living room furniture. While the aquarium hobby had until then put its focus more on keeping fish, the Dutch style focused more on the subject of successfully keeping aquatic plants in an aquarium. Technical achievements that had hardly played a role up to that point can be traced back to the development of Dutch aquariums, such as suitable, high-intensity aquarium lighting, carbon fertilization with CO2 and the regular supply of important nutrients with liquid fertilizers and substrate fertilizers.
As a style, Dutch planted aquariums are considerably older in the aquarium hobby than the Nature Aquarium style founded by Takashi Amano and aquascaping itself, and these planted aquariums are still very popular.

Characteristics of the Dutch aquarium

Nano aquarium in Dutch style

A Dutch aquarium looks less natural than a Nature Aquarium; you could rather compare it to an artificially laid-out flower bed. That does not actually have to be a bad thing; the approach and the aesthetics are just completely different. For Dutch aquariums there are certain design rules, which are meant to be followed but which can be interpreted more or less strictly. Anyone who wants to take part in a competition for Dutch aquariums, however, should know and observe the necessary rules. As early as 1956, certain guidelines were laid down by the Dutch Society for Aquarists (NBAT). They state that only one plant species may be used per 10 centimeters of edge length, and that it may not be repeated anywhere else.
The aquatic plants used are chosen primarily by size, color and leaf shape. The overall layout should radiate harmony, but also show variety and clear structures through plant groups that stand out from one another. These are planted in the plant rows typical of Dutch aquariums, which are also called Leiden streets.

The aquarium plants are arranged in diagonal lines, rising toward the back according to size, which is meant to support the spatial depth effect in the design. The individual plant groups are clearly set apart from one another (by small spaces kept free in between) and do not grow densely against or even into each other.

Gaps between plant groups

Freshly planted top cuttings following the principle of the Dutch aquarium, with clearly visible gaps between the groups.

Neighboring plant groups should differ as much as possible in leaf shape and coloring. The side and rear glass panes of the aquarium should, where possible, not be visible but concealed as well as possible by the aquatic plants. In some cases, moss backgrounds are also used to conceal the back. Every now and then, however, a small section with a view of the back wall is left free, acting like a vanishing point for the eye - even though in principle this goes against the strict NBAT rules.
When placing plants and creating depth and contrast, the golden ratio plays a major role in the Dutch aquarium as well. Here, for example, particularly intensely red plants with prominent leaf size can create focal points at suitable spots.

Hardscape in the Dutch aquarium

Hardscape in the planted aquarium

In contrast to Nature Aquariums and aquascapes, the aquatic plants take center stage even more in Dutch aquariums, and decorative materials such as stones or driftwood are used little or not at all. In some cases, the hardscape in this style of planted aquarium keeping merely serves to roughly structure the layout and as a surface for epiphytes and mosses to colonize. Stones and roots are usually largely concealed by aquarium plants or even completely overgrown.

Fish stocking in the Dutch aquarium

Strictly according to the NBAT rules, at least 12 specimens of the same fish species should always be kept together in the aquarium. In Dutch aquariums, the fish stock is rather purist and less colorful and jumbled than in a classic community aquarium. Instead, the focus is on the great effect of a stately school of a schooling fish species, such as many South American tetra species. Here again it becomes clear that in this form of the aquarium hobby, the focus is much more on the aquatic plants: a principle that was later also found again in the Nature Aquarium style and in aquascaping.

Trimming techniques in the Dutch aquarium

Regular trimming and cutting back are of essential importance in a Dutch aquarium. The different plant groups need a clean appearance with clear boundaries from the neighboring groups. It is also important to maintain the height of the aquatic plants, especially in the midground and background of the design. The shoot tips within a group should produce a harmonious overall picture. For this purpose, a special trimming technique is used in which top cuttings of the desired length are cut off and replanted when trimming. The lower, separated shoots are usually pulled out of the substrate and then removed. This trimming method differs clearly from the approach mostly used in aquascaping, in which the lower plant parts are left standing and it is rather the top cuttings that are removed from the aquarium.

Aquatic plants in the Dutch aquarium

Rotala macrandra

Fast-growing stem plants are very often used in a planted aquarium in the Dutch tradition, since this type of aquarium plant offers an extremely wide variety of colors, leaf sizes and growth forms. Nevertheless, Dutch aquarium keeping distinguishes between the three design levels (foreground, midground, background) in the layout, so ground cover plants and slow-growing species are also used for the midground.
Finally, we have put together a short list of popular aquatic plant species for all design zones in the Dutch aquarium.

Foreground:

Ground-covering species are often used in the foreground, although they should spread less by runners so that the plant group can be kept better in check. Species that grow solitarily or stem plants that stay low are therefore popular here. For example:

Midground

Stem plants that either grow rather low or are kept at a low level by skillful trimming are also popular for the midground of a Dutch aquarium. Below you will find some examples:

Background

In the background of the Dutch aquarium you can of course draw on the full range and also use many tall and broad-leaved species from the large selection of stem plants. Here you will find some particularly striking species listed.

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