Dutch Style Aquarium

What Is a Dutch Style Aquarium?

The Dutch style developed in the Netherlands during the 20th century. Its focus is the plants themselves: hardscape is hidden or left out, and the layout is built from many groups of different plants, each with its own colour, leaf shape and height.

It differs from nature-style aquascapes, which imitate landscapes and use wood and stone as the main structure.

Core Layout Principles

Plants are grouped and arranged in terraces that rise from front to back, so each group can be seen. “Streets” are rows of low plants that run diagonally from the front towards the back, creating depth.

Leave a little open foreground, avoid symmetrical layouts, and place focal plants, often a red stem plant, off-centre. Traditional Dutch aquascapes avoid repeating the same plant in more than one group.

Choosing Plants for a Dutch Aquascape

Stem plants form the backbone: Rotala, Ludwigia, Limnophila, Hygrophila and Alternanthera offer a wide range of colours and leaf shapes. Foreground and midground groups often use Staurogyne, Cryptocoryne, Echinodorus and low carpeting plants.

A common guideline is about one plant species for every 10 cm of front glass. Choose plants that grow at manageable rates and respond well to trimming.

Using Color, Texture, and Contrast

Contrast between neighbouring groups is what makes the style work. Place fine-leaved plants beside broad-leaved ones, light green beside dark green, and red or orange accents against green backgrounds.

Keep each group’s edges clear, so the eye reads distinct shapes rather than a mixed tangle.

Lighting, CO2, and Fertilization

Dense, fast-growing stem plants need strong lighting, injected CO2 and a balanced fertiliser routine, often both liquid fertiliser and a nutrient-rich substrate.

The three must stay in balance. Strong light without enough CO2 and nutrients quickly leads to algae, so increase one only when the others can keep up.

Trimming and Plant Maintenance

Most Dutch tanks need trimming every week or two. Cut stems back to keep each group at its intended height and replant healthy tops to keep groups dense.

Remove stray stems that creep into neighbouring groups, and take out old, leggy stems at the base so the group does not thin at the bottom.

Planning a Sustainable Dutch Aquarium

Plan the layout around how fast each plant grows and how often you can trim. A design full of fast growers may look good for a week and then need constant work.

Choose fish that will not dig or eat plants, such as small schooling tetras and rasboras, and leave access for trimming and cleaning the glass.