Typical characteristics include terracing of plants in “streets” that taper towards the rear help to put emphasis on the perspective of depth, and the use of red plants with distinctive leaves as focal points.
The Dutch Style of aquascaping has a long history that dates back to aquascaping competitions from the 1950s. In 1956 the Dutch Society for Aquarists (NBAT) established its first set of official guidelines. The traditional rules are pretty strict. They dictate for instance the use of not more than 1 plant species per 10cm/ 4” of tank length, that groups should be distinct and separated by a clear (small) space, that there must be no duplication of the same species in another group. Dutch Style aquascpes focus on showing the beauty of aquatic plants by highlighting contrasts in texture, shapes or colours. Typical characteristics include terracing of plants in “streets” that taper towards the rear help to put emphasis on the perspective of depth, and the use of red plants with distinctive leaves as focal points.