The Dutch were among the first to become interested in planted
aquariums, growing plants successfully since at least the 1940s.
The NBAT, the Dutch Aquarium Society, began to host annual
competitions with certain guidelines on how tanks were supposed
to look like. With the implementation of a set of rules,
contestants began to style their tanks accordingly. A style
began to take shape. A Dutch layout from the 1980s. The hallmark
of this style is the tight, manicured look of the bunch plants.
Plants are neatly organized into rows which gain height from
front to back. Ideally, up to three kinds of plants are used per
foot of the aquarium so a four foot tank (48 inches) should
ideally have no more than twelve species. Stem plants are
carefully chosen for their growth rates as well so as to keep
the shape of the 'streets' as low maintenance as possible
--hence the use of lobelia and Saururus cernuus is very popular.
Plants should be organized so as to provide maximum contrast in
color and leaf shape/size with the