It is with great pleasure that the Aquatic Gardeners Association announces the results of the 2015 International Aquascaping Contest. As in years past, the contest had excellent participation with almost 500 outstanding aquascapes and participants from all over the world. Again for this year, there were record numbers of aquascapes in the smaller categories and some outstanding biotope and paludarium layouts. We also had another excellent showing for the Dutch category with some beautiful examples of Dutch layouts.
The Aquatic Gardeners Association would like to thank our esteemed panel of judges. Without their willingness to take time from their busy schedules and judge, our Aquascaping contest would not be the success it is today. For this year, we have the AGA’s own Karen Randall, Luca Galarraga From Aquabase Brazil, Long Tran Hoang from Vietnam, and Juan Puchades Rufino from Spain. We were also fortunate to have Marco Aukes judge our Dutch category and we hope to continue to grow our Dutch categories again. Phil Edwards assisted with the Biotope category. Thank you judges for your efforts; they are truly appreciated by our contestants and the AGA.
TOP 10 AGA 2015 Aquatic Garden, < 28L
Once again a great pleasure to see those skilful aquascapers working in such reduced space congratulations to all! — Luca Galarraga
01 - On the Rock - Watana Supukpongvilai - Thailand02 - Estuary - Soeharto - Indonesia03 - Uncoditional love v2 - Jirawong Laopiyasakul - Thailand04 - Dark of the moon - Aldino Rafiq Rendiansyah - Indonesia05 - Mongrove Forest - Mounir el kholty - Morocco06 - Bridge - Kau Wan Ling - Singapore07 - The rock - Kwong King Man - HongKong08 - Blades Edge - Jeffrey Peter Miotke - US09 - Unconditional Love v1 - Jirapong Laopiyasakul - Thailand10 - Nano Velebit - Alen Hodzic - Croatia
TOP 10 AGA 2015 Aquatic Garden, 28L ~ 60L
Oh my God! This category is always so difficult to judge... I would like to have more awards to give to these awesome works! — Luca Galarraga
01 - Moss Code - Ittipong Deewan - Thailand02 - Into the Atlantic Forest - Gregory Thom e Silva - Brazil03 - Mystic Shadows Valley - Fabricio Rufino de Souza - Brazil04 - None - Thiago Daniel Eloi da Hora - Brazil05 - Blending Tree - Kwong King Man - Hongkong06 - Scape that stuff - Andreas Ruppert - Germany07 - Straight Edge - Frederic Fuss - Germany08 - The Dimension - Watana Supukpongvilai - Thailand09 - Vale das Trees Marias - RODRIGO DUTRA DE ARAUJO - Brazil10 - Guha Pawon - Wendy Kurniawan - Indonesia
TOP 10 AGA 2015 Aquatic Garden, 60L ~ 120L
Another hard work category congratulations for all those wonderful works! — Luca Galarraga
01 - To freedom - Suhendri - Indonesia02 - Last Wilderness - Francisco Artur Ribeiro de Matos - Portugal03 - Pangea - Andras Peter - Hungary04 - Old Forest - Wolinski Gregoire - France05 - Influx - Gaurav Singh - India06 - Hedge - Bintang Lasyakka - Indonesia07 - Light in the mood - Nobphacha Yimyou - Thailand08 - Mystic River - Efrain Sequera Moreno - Spain09 - Grolsch - Christian Brams - Sweden10 - Amazing Snow Mountain - Wong Wai Keung - Hongkong
TOP 10 AGA 2015 Aquatic Garden, 120L ~ 200L
Wonderful works here another difficult and balanced category! — Luca Galarraga
01 - A sudden turn of events - Yu Cheng Pan - China02 - Hopes - Robertus Hartono - Singapore03 - Paola - Marco Cogoni - Italy04 - The Gates of Gaia - Francisco Artur Ribeiro de Matos - Portugal05 - Zambezi - Baro Peter - Hungary06 - O Frances Livre - Leandro Cesar Campos - Brazil07 - Enchanted Thicket - Nelson Paguinto - Philippines08 - Dimrill Dale - Laurent Garcia - France09 - Paradise - Carlos Eduardo Pires Goncalves - Brazil10 - Across - Han-Hsuan Chen - Taiwan
TOP 10 AGA 2015 Aquatic Garden, 200L ~ 320L
Congratulations for your impressive works. Truly masterpieces! — Luca Galarraga
01 - Deep Nature - Paulo Vitor Pacheco - Brazil02 - Gravity - Wolinski Gregoire - France03 - Oges Mawut - Amiri Lubis - Indonesia04 - Escaping the stranglers - Julien Voultoury - France05 - Wind of Kind - Chow Wai Sun - HongKong China06 - Mystic River - Martial Hervy - France07 - Valley of the Giants - Yang Yuanzhi - China08 - Reincarnation - Ye Yi - China09 - A Hunting Ground - Sim Kian Hong - Malaysia10 - Suro Badock - Heri Amir - Indonesia
TOP 10 AGA 2015 Aquatic Garden, > 320L
Stunning masterpieces on this category congratulations for all those artists! — Luca Galarraga
01 - Silent Awakening - Fernando Boturao Francischelli - Brazil02 - Faith - Andre Luiz Longarco - Brazil03 - Magical World - Liu Yong - China04 - The Fallen Tree - Narto - Indonesia05 - Secret Realm - Fan Zhemin - China06 - Persephone - Ludo Bourdin - France07 - The Owls shriek - Poupin Ulrich - France08 - Search for traces - Yang Yufan - China09 - Grassland in the Clouds - Zhang Dadong - China10 - Return - Wenlin Ruan - China
TOP 10 AGA 2015 Biotope Aquascape
01 - Mixteco River - Bernardo Salas Perez - Mexico02 - Malaysia slow stream - Alessandro Camillo Di Stefano - Italy03 - Malaysian slow stream - Alessandro Camillo Di Stefano - Italy04 - Hawaiian Rainbow Reef - Petra Basic - Croatia05 - Tully River zebras - Benajamin Mos - Australia06 - Barito river basin Borneo - Hamza Syed - India07 - Kalimanta Selatan - Alessandro Camillo Di Stefano - Italy08 - Turf forest virgin - Fan Bowen - China09 - Axelridis Cradle - Flavio Henard Jorge de Freitas - Brazil10 - My Malawi lake - Bucan Nenad - Serbia
TOP 03 AGA 2015 Dutch Aquascape
It is the second year where the AGA has a seperate category for the Dutch Style but actually this is the FIRST year where we have real Dutch tanks in the competition. Amongst those entries there are now several fine examples that can show people all around the globe that Dutch Style is not at all old fashioned. It is alive and kicking and several tanks show several species of exclusive plants in perfect health. I really hope these examples will contribute to a new high of Dutch style aquariums all over the world. — Marco Aukes
Colorful works reminds me the first years of aquascaping. Congratulations to all participants for such beautiful plants in their optimal conditions!!! — Luca Galarraga
01 - Raymond Duindam - Netherlands02 - Rik Verhulst - Belgium03 - My tank - Bart Laurens - Netherlands
TOP 10 AGA 2015 Paludarium
Amazing works full of sensibility and passion. Congratulations to all participants! — Luca Galarraga
01 - Dradon Nest - Liu Yong - China02 - The mystery Creek - Watana Supukpongvilai - Thailand03 - Endless - Lee Ming Hei - China04 - The gurgling stream in the forest - Zhao Rui - China05 - Jungle Slice - Micha┼В Wasilewski - Poland06 - Rawa Radar - Bambang Nurdiansyah - Indonesia07 - Home In the Forest - XuHong - China08 - Daughter - Luidi Rafael de Souza Doim - Brazil09 - Dream Rainforest - Liu Yong - China10 - Yunlin Paradise - Luo Jungxue - China
Ten aquariums can draw us underwater in ten different ways. A luminous forest opening, a red surface canopy or an exposed rock valley changes where we look—and what we discover next.
Chuanwei Yu’s 万物自然, the IAPLC 2026 Grand Prize aquascape, is immediately recognisable as a woodland scene. Its lasting interest lies in how that scene holds together. Large trunks establish the setting, finer roots connect its layers, planting softens the structure and fish make the spaces between the wood feel inhabited.
The CIAC 2026 podium offers three remarkably different ways to make an aquarium feel larger than its glass boundaries. Trần Anh Đức’s “Tectonic Memory” builds its world through folded rock contours. Acho Choky’s “Under The Cave” places the viewer beneath a dark canopy. Zhao Gang’s “幽邃” draws us through a planted valley animated by blue fish.
Vietnam’s Trần Anh Đức has won the CIAC 2026 Aquascaping Group with “Tectonic Memory,” leading the newly published Top 30. Indonesia’s Acho Choky takes second place with “Under The Cave,” while China’s Zhao Gang (赵刚) finishes third with “幽邃.”
Vietnam has plenty to celebrate at IAPLC 2026. Ha Le Trinh wins the Gold Prize at world rank 2, while Minh Toan Nguyen earns a Bronze Prize at rank 6. Together, they give Vietnamese aquascaping two places among the contest’s seven leading awards—and two striking aquariums for the international community to discover.
Chuanwei Yu of China has won the IAPLC 2026 Grand Prize, leading a season that also brings a proud moment for Vietnam: Ha Le Trinh takes second place and Minh Toan Nguyen finishes sixth.
Two competitions. One date. A new collection of aquascapes for the world to discover. IAPLC and CIAC have both scheduled their 2026 results announcements for Saturday, October 10. This AquaLibs guide brings together the confirmed schedule, official channels, archive galleries and reading to help you follow the day.
Aquascaping results are usually read one competition at a time. Follow the author's name across IAPLC and CIAC, however, and a richer story comes into view: a double championship, two very different layouts in one season, or a striking work discovered through a second gallery.
A CIAC results list is also a meeting point for aquascaping communities around the world. Read the country column alongside the photographs, and another story emerges: established names holding their ground, more works reaching the leading positions, and communities finding new reasons to celebrate.
In 2024, Rahul Mukherjee finished 63rd in CIAC's Aquascaping Group. In 2025, he reached sixth place. That 57-place advance is one of five compelling stories we can discover by putting two seasons of results—and their photographs—together.
The first three places make the headlines. Keep scrolling through the CIAC 2025 aquascapes, however, and the gallery opens into a much wider landscape: shaded forests, weathered roots, bright rock valleys and fish that give an underwater scene its sense of life.
Every CIAC results announcement gives the aquascaping community a new collection of works to discuss, study and remember. Behind the winning photograph is a longer story: earlier competitions, ideas developed across seasons, and the practical work of bringing a landscape to life.
Before the CIAC 2026 results arrive on October 10, there is time to look again at the aquascapes that made the previous season memorable. The most useful question is not simply which work finished highest. It is how each composition earned our attention—and what we notice when we return to it.
Before a new IAPLC winner is revealed, the previous season deserves a closer look. Which aquascaping styles filled the TOP 300 in 2025? Did the same visual families become more common in the TOP 100, TOP 27 and TOP 7? And what can those layouts teach us about depth, planting and the way fish bring a composition to life?
This image presents a densely planted underwater scene organized around a pale sandy trail that recedes beneath an arch of roots and foliage. A school of small fish occupies the upper-left and central water, while layered greens, reddish plant accents and hanging root-like forms create strong vertical depth. The composition is highly atmospheric and technically controlled, with darkness at the edges directing attention toward the illuminated opening. Because the photograph does not reveal maintenance history, livestock identification or construction details beneath the planting, those aspects are judged conservatively from visible evidence only.
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