Nature Aquarium World Volume 2

by Takashi Amano

A companion volume to Nature Aquarium World, Book 1, featuring aquariums up to 50 gallons.

Genres: Nature

180 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

Takashi Amano (天野尚, born July 18, 1954) was a photographer, designer and aquarist. His interest in aquaria led him to create the Japanese company Aqua Design Amano.

Amano is the author of Nature Aquarium World (TFH Publications, 1994), a three-book series on aquascaping and freshwater aquarium plants and fish. He has also published the book "Aquarium Plant Paradise" (T.F.H. Publications, 1997).

A species of freshwater shrimp is named the “Amano shrimp” or "Yamato shrimp" (Caridina multidentata; previously Caridina japonica) after him. After discovering this species' ability to eat large quantities of algae, Amano asked a local distributor to special order several thousand of them. They have since become a staple in the freshwater planted aquarium hobby.

He has also developed a line of aquarium components that are known as ADA, and his “Nature Aquarium” article series appears monthly in both Practical Fishkeeping magazine in the UK, and Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine in the US.

Reviews

[Khürt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading these books in the late 1990s, a few years before my children were born. Based on his books, I set up two nature aquariums, one dedicated to Blue Discus (Symphysodon aequifasciatus) and the other to Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare). I loved those tanks and was devastated when both failed while I was at my younger brother's wedding in 1998. The person I left in charge of feeding overfed the tank, which upset the delicate balance between flora and fauna. The fish drowned in excess nitrogen.

[Keeshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book and very inspiring, but the aquariums featured here are solidly in the high tech genre of aquarium keeping (i.e. high light, continuous inputs). This volume is the second of three coffee table books by Takashi Amano, each of which focuses on a different scale of aquarium. Volume two contains planted community tanks in sizes ranging from 2 liters to 30 gallons. The similar patterns of fish and plant selection emerge in the most rudimentary flip through, with the subtle variations gradually becoming apparent on closer examination. Though the information here is sparse, the beauty in these images pairs well with the more technical Ecology of the Planted Aquarium.

[Kath · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the Japanese to English translations are a little stilted at times, this book (the 2nd in a series) is chock full of amazing and gorgeous gardens in aquarium settings. Truly breathtaking. Plenty of inspiration for aquarium hobbyists who want to keep a well-planted tank.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amano is the master of making aquariums into art. An inspiration for all aquarists.

This is mainly a picture book, but there are some short writings by Amano on what inspired him to make a certain tank, and the plight of Nature in the face of increased man made pressure.

[Woody Debris · Rating 5 out of 5]

geekin' out japanese aquarium style