Aquascapes

I've never been a big fan of home aquariums.  The big ones like the Shedd in Chicago or Monterey Bay are pretty cool but unless you have room for a large tank at home, they just seemed to be smelly glass containers with sad little fish.

Of course, I never saw home aquariums like these

2008 IAPLC Grand Prize Work - Cheng Sui Wai

World Ranking #12 - Yee Kin Cheong, Living Art

These are award winning "aquascapes" from the 2009 International Aquatic Plant Layout Contest. The event, which has been held annually since 2001 now receives over 1,300 entries from underwater gardeners in more than 50 countries.

The competition has specific judging criteria based on artistic and technical points such as "do the color, size, swimming method and ecology of the fish match the layout?"
Swimming method??

A photo to give you some perspective on the size of both the tank and the plants used.

World Ranking #27 - Jamie Lin, Underwater Forest

See more photos at Twisted Sifter