AquaLibs presents AquaRank Discover the world’s leading aquascapers

Explore transparent rankings built from published results across the world’s leading aquascaping contests.

TOP 27 IAPLC 2006 - Look back history

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

Leave your comments
Latest on News & Press
  • Analyse Malaysia aquascapes at IAPLC 2026, then explore the country’s results, contributing creators and competition history on AquaRank Nations.

    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.
  • Analyse Brazil aquascapes at IAPLC 2026, then explore the country’s results, contributing creators and competition history on AquaRank Nations.

    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.
  • Analyse Japan aquascapes at IAPLC 2026, then explore the country’s results, contributing creators and competition history on AquaRank Nations.

    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.
  • Analyse China aquascapes at IAPLC 2026, then explore the country’s results, contributing creators and competition history on AquaRank Nations.

    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.
  • Use the existing CIAC cover style with the wording “CIAC 2026 / OFFICIAL RESULTS / RANKINGS TO 119”. Use an actual contest photograph; do not claim “119 entries” or “full results”.

    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.
  • CIAC 2026 results, ranks 31–70 — Beyond the Top 30

    CIAC 2026 Results: Beyond the Top 30, Ranks 31–70

    The CIAC 2026 story continues beyond the Top 30. This AquaLibs report brings together the contest image cards labelled 31–70, introducing more creators and forty positions to explore.
  • IAPLC 2026 Top 10 cover featuring three contrasting aquascapes with large white and turquoise lettering.

    IAPLC 2026 Top 10: Ten Aquascapes, Ten Underwater Stories

    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.
  • Editorial cover for AquaLibs’ analysis of Chuanwei Yu’s IAPLC 2026 Grand Prize aquascape.

    IAPLC 2026 Grand Prize Aquascape: What Makes Chuanwei Yu’s Design Convincing?

    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.
  • CIAC 2026 Top 3 analysis cover featuring Tectonic Memory, Under The Cave and 幽邃.

    CIAC 2026 Top 3 Analysis: Inside the Podium Aquascapes

    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.
  • CIAC 2026 Top 30 results cover celebrating Vietnam’s winning aquascaper Trần Anh Đức.

    CIAC 2026 Top 30 Results: Trần Anh Đức Wins with Tectonic Memory

    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 flag and bold IAPLC 2026 typography celebrating two Top 7 awards.

    Vietnam at IAPLC 2026: Two Top 7 Awards, 29 Top 300 Places.

    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.
  • IAPLC 2026 results editorial cover adapted from Chuanwei Yu’s Grand Prize aquascape.

    IAPLC 2026 Results: Chuanwei Yu Wins Grand Prize

    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.
  • October 10 IAPLC and CIAC 2026 results hub cover, with an archived CIAC 2025 aquascape by Muhammad Yusuf.

    IAPLC & CIAC 2026 Results Hub: Your October 10 Guide

    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.
  • IAPLC 2025 Revisited editorial cover adapted from Josh Sim’s 2025 Grand Prize aquascape.

    IAPLC 2025 Revisited: 12 Aquascapes Before the 2026 Reveal

    Before the next champion is revealed, there is time for one more look at the aquariums that made the previous season memorable.
  • IAPLC and CIAC One Creator Two Stages cover based on Gang Zhao's IAPLC 2025 second-place forest aquascape.

    One Aquascaper, Two Stages: Five Journeys Across IAPLC and CIAC.

    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.