I myself dislike the term "biotope" aquarium---most people misuse it badly. And I am not arguing that it is better than Amano's work---just
as valid, and different. Another path that can be taken, and one I personally prefer, one that resonates better with my artistic vision and sentiment. I
do wonder, though, whether capturing the beaty of
underwater scenes in aquaria isn't more faithful to the Japanese spirit of gardening.
My aquascapes---the few I've done, the many I'm planning---like yours, are also based on real places, but
aquatic ones. I think the beauty of terrestrial ones is best left to penjing---traditional, non-aquatic penjing I mean, because what I love to do is a kind of penjing: a miniature river bank, a miniature mountain riffle, a miniature floating meadow.
I also aquascape for people, not for fish. I want to show them the beauty of the
underwater world, the one they haven't seen much of, the one they haven't yet seen as beatiful. I also don't pretend that I understand how nature works, but I do find that aquascaping underwater places does help me understand them much better.
Sure, people are more famililar with landscapes. But isn't art supposed to shake people a little, in a good way? Shock them, even? Show them what the do not see, the beauty they miss, enrich their lives a little?
And of course, there is the beauty of the fishes themselves. Again, maybe it is my Bauhaus-type aesthetics: good form-function is beauty. Different fishes do fit certain places or others, and in different ways, and to be able to show that off, the beauty resulting from millions of years of evolution, I think of as high art and enjoy it tremendously.
Finally, we came to the point of "collectoritis". I most forcefully agree---truly terrible. I have a rule of thumb, to limit myself to half a dozen spp. of macrofauna and another half dozen for macroflora per aquarium, a little more for big tanks, even fewer for smaller ones. More than that is unnatural---even in waters rich in biodiversity one is not likely to find more than a handful of species of big animals and plants per m3 of water. I also do my best to build a
communty, where each basic eco-guild is represented and species fit harmoniously and show of their unique beauty.
What can I say, for me, when that is well done, it is the summit of aquascaping art
