Florian Breindl has been a fixture of the aquascaping community for quite some time. He is well connected both nationally and worldwide and very active on social networks such as Instagram. In international competitions he has stood out positively above all for his first-class work in the so-called "Brazilian Style". These are aquascapes with a high proportion of fast-growing plants that are quite intensive to maintain. But Florian also feels very much at home in other styles and runs a few scapes with emersed plant keeping as well. These include, for example, Wabi-Kusa or other aqua-terrariums.
Aram Schneider (AS) had the opportunity to ask Florian Breindl (FB) a few questions for the Aquascaping Wiki. Enjoy the interview!

The interview

AS: "What are your influences, where do you get your inspiration and ideas? Which artists have influenced you?"

FB: "I could now say, like most scapers, that I take my inspiration from nature, but that is often not true. I am active in various aquascaping groups, I follow the international contest scene and of course nature too. But most of what inspires me I find in other scapes. Sometimes it is also individual stones and pieces of wood that give me a vision in my head. "

AS: "Which artists have influenced you?"

FB: "Jurijs Jutjajevs plays a very big role there. He is a very good friend and, I would say, my mentor. Josh Sim is a legend who influenced me greatly with his workshop at Green Aqua. Luis Carlos Galarraga, André Longarco and Luis Cardoso are scapers who have influenced me with their style."

AS: "In my assessment, you became known above all for your work in the so-called "Brazilian Style". What makes this aquascaping style particularly appealing to you?"

FB: "The variety of colors and shapes. A "colorful" mix of plants combined with an imposing hardscape. You can work with many details and very well include the reflection in the side panes in your layout. I find the shapes and colors of the Rotala lanes very appealing. "

AS: "How and with what do you fertilize your aquariums?"

FB: "I keep it quite simple; I actually almost never measure and go by the appearance of the plants. I use the Masterline fertilizers (NPK, iron and carbon), at first according to the manufacturer's instructions, and when it heads toward the final shot, I usually limit the NPK share to get even more red out of the plants."

AS: "What is your favorite material, for example which types of stone and aquatic plants?"

FB: "For the Brazilian Style I prefer Seiryu Stones - Mini Landscape, because you can combine them with each other really well and they show very good and interesting structures. As for plants, the Rotala species of course must not be missing. Small Bucephalandra and Riccardia moss can also always be found in my tanks."

AS: "How long have you been doing the aquarium hobby?"

FB: "Aquariums since about 2011 and aquascaping on an ambitious basis for about 7 years."

AS: "You are also very active on social media channels such as Instagram. How important do you find the connection between aquascaping and influencing, or networking via social media, these days?"

FB: "I wouldn't call myself very active, but I do spend some time on it. Influencing has increased in recent years, I think. Companies use social media as an advertising space, which in my eyes is nothing bad. Through my work, companies have taken notice of me and support my projects. That is great and eases the strain on my wallet a little. In return they also want something for it, and rightly so. You just shouldn't overdo it, I think.

I think networking is great. Not everyone has a good shop nearby where they can exchange ideas with like-minded people. Forums, Facebook groups or Instagram are ideal for that. Especially since it is also easier to stay in touch with people from other countries and make friends. I also consider sharing your experiences with others important. That simply works very well online. Shout-out to the #FAS crew and the Aquascaping Summit crew ????."

AS: "What are your greatest successes in competitions?"

FB: "Hmm, I have won the Aquascaping Championship twice and in 2021 had the best German aquascape at the IAPLC, with rank 115. I was very proud of my performance.

AS: "If you had to choose between a beautiful stone and a beautiful aquatic plant, which would you take?"

FB: "Haha, good question, definitely the stone! ❤️ Stones."

AS: "Thank you very much for the interview!"

Copyright for all photos in the article: Florian Breindl