TOP 27 IAPLC 2006 - Look back history

08 July 2022

5957

TOP 27 - IAPLC 2006 - The International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest (IAPLC) 2006. This year, the contest received a total of 959 entries

World ranking 1 - Autumnal colors - W90xD45xH45 (cm)

Chen Yu Lin - Taiwan

Plant:
Rotala nanjean
Glossostigma elatinoides
Eleocharis parvula

Fish:
Hemigrammus bleheri
Caridina multidentata

World ranking 2 - Relaxed Time - W114xD52xH52 (cm)

Masashi Ono - Japan

Plant:
Vallisneria nana
Microsorum sp.
Eleocharis xingua
Fantinalis antipyretica

Fish:
Puntius sp.cf.denisoni
Crossocheilus siamensis
Caridina multidentata

World ranking 3 - Rain is coming - W125xD45xH45(cm)

Olga Baranovskaya - Ukraine

Plant:
Cladophora aegagrophira
Echinodorus tenellus 'red'
Eleocharis acicularis
E. pusilla
Glossostigma elatinoides
Hydrocotyle verticillata
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Lindernia rotundifolia
Ludwigia sp.
Micranthenum micranthemoides
Microsorum sp.
Nymphaea sp.
Didiplis diandra
Rotala macrandra
Rotala macrandra var.
Rotala rotundifolia
Rotala rotundifolia 'green'
Vesicularia dubyana
Riccia fluitans

Fish:
Trigonostigma heteromorpha
Naocaridina denticulata

World ranking 4 - Old Tree - W105xD58xH45(cm)

Chen Ze Xin - Taiwan

Plant:
Hemiantbus callitrichoides "Cuba"
Blyxa japonica
Cryptocoryne wendtii
Elatine triandra
Hottonia inflate
Lilaeopsis novae-zelandiae
Microsorum sp.
Vesicularia sp.
Riccia fluitans

Fish:
Paracheirodon axelrodi
Hemigrammus erythrozonus
Pterophyllum altum
Pterophyllum scalare
Ancistrus temmincki
Apistogramma cacatuoides
Corydoras sterbai
Hemimyzon formosanus

World ranking 5 - Part of Nature - W130xD45xH57(cm)

Jung Soon Ja - Korea

Plant:
Glossostigma elatinoides
Anubias barteri var. nana
Bolbitis heudelotii
Microsorum pteropus
Microsorum pteropus "WINDELOV"
Vesicularia dubyana

Fish:
Hemigrammus erythrozonus
Gyrinocheilus aymonieri
Neocaridina sp.

World ranking 6 - Lingering Snow - W120xD45xH45(cm)

Minoru Yamagashi - Japan

Plant:
Bolbitis heudelotii
Microsorum sp.
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green'
Cryptocoryne parva
Eleocharis acicularis
Vesicularia sp.

Fish:
Rasbora agilis
Otocinclus sp.
Caridina multidentata

World ranking 7 - Listen Carefully for the Sound of a Stream - W150xD45xH60(cm)

Fumio Shiga - Japan

Plant:
Echinodorus angstifolia
Vallisneria nana
Bolbitis heudelotii
Microsorum sp.
Isoetes japonica
Blyxa novoguineensis
Eleocharis acicularis
Rotala nanjean
Ludwigia arcuata
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'brown'
Fantinalis antipyretica

Fish:
Hemigrammus ulreyi
Otocinclus sp.
Crossocheilus siamensis
Caridina multidentata

World ranking 8 - Hometown, Has Pure Water Stream - W90xD45xH45(cm)

Akira Yamagishi - Japan

Plant:
Rotala rotundifolia 'green'
Rotala nanjean
Anubias barteri var. nana
Ludwigia sp.
Micranthemum micranthemoides
Ludwigia arcuata
Echinodorus tenellus
Rotala sp.
Rotala indica
Vallisneria nana
Hygrophila polysperma
Bolbitis heudelotii
Myriophyllum mattogrossense
Glossostigma elatinoides
Fantinalis antipyretica
Vesicularia sp.
Cryptocoryne wendtii

Fish:
Hemigrammus hyanuary
Moenkhausia pittieri
Hyphessobrycon haraldschultzi
Otocinclus sp.
Caridina multidentata

World ranking 9 - Hometown in a Mountain Pass - W90xD45xH45(cm)

Takayuki Kosuge - Japan

Plant:
Rotala rotundifolia 'green'
Rotala rotundifolia vietnam
Eleocharis acicularis
Vesicularia sp.
Glossostigma elatinoides
Ludwigia arcuata

Fish:
Paracheirodon axelrodi
Otocinclus sp.
Caridina multidentata

World ranking 10 - Hiding Hometown - W120xD45xH45(cm)

Junichi Itakura - Japan

Plant:
Rotala rotundifolia 'green'
Vesicularia sp.
Micranthenum micranthemoides
Micranthenum unbrosum
Bolbitis heudelotii
Microsorum sp.
Microsorum pteropus
Echinodorus tenellus
Eleocharis sp.
Eichhornia natans
Rotala nanjean
Ludwigia brevipes
Ludwigia inclinata var.
Myriophyllum mattogrossense
Hottonia palustris
Glossostigma elatinoides
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green'

Fish:
Hemigrammus bleheri
Otocinclus sp.
Caridina multidentata

TOP 27 IAPLC 2001: https://youtu.be/rpu6nEkwQNw

TOP 27 IAPLC 2002: https://youtu.be/olbDvtSFwAQ

TOP 27 IAPLC 2003: https://youtu.be/Ro7NPcN0xU0

TOP 27 IAPLC 2004: https://youtu.be/h7N__Dv_lvU

TOP 27 IAPLC 2005: https://youtu.be/UPYwedd5exk

TOP 27 IAPLC 2006: https://youtu.be/lNnafDy4n9w

TOP 127 IAPLC 2009: https://youtu.be/RChGpujKfxo

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Spain at IAPLC 2026: Roberto Buenadicha’s Forest and the Space Between Trunks

Roberto Buenadicha’s aquarium is the only Spanish work in the published ranks 1–300. Its slender dark trunks, fine green planting and conspicuous pale fish make it a rewarding individual study. This instalment returns to the older Spain introduction through one photograph, keeping the scope small enough for the evidence available.
France at IAPLC 2026: A Close Reading of Jean Christophe Grosset’s Woodland

Only one French work appears in the published ranks 1–300. That gives this instalment a different task: a close reading of Jean Christophe Grosset’s aquarium, with the older country introduction as context. The photograph deserves attention for its own wood, planting and fish relationships, rather than being made to represent every French aquascaper.
Singapore at IAPLC 2026: Open Stone and an Enclosed Planted Passage

Two Singaporean works appear in the published ranks 1–300, and they offer an unusually clear contrast. One makes open water and two main stones central; the other encloses a small rear opening within dense planting and roots. The pair is useful precisely because it does not support one simple visual label.
Hong Kong at IAPLC 2026: Three Studies in Light, Layers and Visual Impact

A low timber ceiling, blue-toned terraces and converging planted diagonals create three visibly different aquariums. Hong Kong’s represented works at ranks 1–300 offer a compact study of visual impact beyond the season’s leading awards. Looking at them closely is more informative than treating the cutoff count as a verdict on an entire aquascaping community.
Italy at IAPLC 2026: Calm Routes and More Dramatic Planted Frames

A clear route through planted banks can feel quiet; a coloured ridge beneath a dark frame can feel theatrical. The four Italian photographs selected for this study offer both experiences. Together, they make a useful contemporary comparison with an archive that once placed particular emphasis on calm, enduring-looking compositions.
United States at IAPLC 2026: Four Distinct Readings of a Wooded Aquarium

The four American photographs selected here all contain important wood structures, yet they do not produce one uniform wooded scene. A broad canopy, a low diagonal, a fine-leaved light window and an exposed timber subject organise attention differently. That variation lets us discuss design diversity through specific decisions rather than a broad national label.
Germany at IAPLC 2026: Four Ways to Balance Hardscape and Open Water

A dark wooded frame, a rocky valley, a brighter mixed scene and green-covered root contours make this German selection particularly useful for comparison. The photographs share an interest in separating materials from the water around them, but achieve it through different outlines and lighting relationships.
Taiwan at IAPLC 2026: Planted Contours and Changing Routes into Depth

Dense foliage, planted wood ridges and a low central route create different senses of distance in this four-work selection. The photographs are particularly rewarding when viewed through changes in leaf shape and planting height. They offer a present-season comparison with an archive that once described both graceful composition and more contemporary experimentation.
Thailand at IAPLC 2026: Surface Colour, Green Arches and Open Rockwork

Three Thai aquariums in the published Top 300 present contrasting visual priorities. MAGIC LEAVES makes the water surface a signature; another work carries a route beneath planted arches; a third exposes rock peaks against rounded greenery. This small group gives a useful reason to look beyond the first shared award photograph.
Indonesia at IAPLC 2026: Forest Craft Through Four Different Frames

The four Indonesian works published at ranks 1–300 offer a compact comparison. A coloured surface canopy, a dominant trunk, a dense grove and a wood-and-rock opening all reward close attention. The small group makes it possible to examine every represented work in this range, while keeping the conclusions specific to this season and cutoff.
Malaysia at IAPLC 2026: Wood, Plant Texture and the Visual Role of Fish

A bright gap between broad wood layers, a fine-leaved canopy and a conspicuous individual fish offer three different entrances to this Malaysian selection. The photographs invite attention to the space inhabited by fish as well as the hardscape around it. They also show why a creator’s reputation and a new aquarium’s visual decisions should be discussed separately.
Brazil at IAPLC 2026: Rock Landscapes and Wood Beyond the Familiar Label

Enchanted Hills offers an immediately recognisable rock valley, with coloured planting and fish in bright water. Three other selected Brazilian photographs build their scenes around substantial wood. Seeing them together is a useful way to revisit a familiar label without asking individual creators to fit a single national recipe.
Japan at IAPLC 2026: Nature Aquarium and Many Contemporary Visions

A pale path through hanging roots and a bright interval between exposed rocks can both make an aquarium feel spacious. Japan’s 2026 selection is rewarding because it places these different approaches beside richly planted foregrounds and coloured slopes. Six photographs offer a practical way to discuss variety within a familiar Nature Aquarium heritage.
China at IAPLC 2026: How Layered Wood Creates Convincing Depth

The Grand Prize photograph gives this study an obvious first stop, but the comparison becomes richer when it reaches beyond the winner. Six selected aquariums show different ways of framing light with wood: unequal trunks, fine leaf curtains, successive arches and repeated vertical roots. Their interest lies in how each arrangement keeps a densely constructed scene readable.
Vietnam at IAPLC 2026: Wood, Stone and a Broader Design Identity

Vietnam’s two leading 2026 awards both invite us into wooded environments. That is an interesting starting point for revisiting an archive which once associated the country strongly with stone. The most useful reading is not that one material has defeated the other. Six selected photographs show several ways of organising planted ground, open water and the route into a scene.
CIAC 2026 Official Results Update: Rankings Extend to 119

The CIAC 2026 Aquascaping Category results have received an official update. A results sheet distributed by the organising committee on 14 October lists ranks 14–119, extending the ranking information available beyond the image cards previously covered by AquaLibs.