Each year an intense competition is held that you’ve never heard of — the International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest. The highly competitive event is typically led by participants from Eastern Europe and Asia who vie to create the world’s best aquarium…
Whisper of the Pines, Serkan Cetinkol

Pilgrimage, Shintaro Matsui

These aquariums are meticulously assembled over the course of months or even years and are incredibly expensive to grow and maintain. Additionally, competitors need to be experts in various areas, including biology, design, and photography. In many cases, fish aren’t even part of the aquarium, though they can be seen in a few instances.
If spending several hours a week trimming moss is up your alley, here’s some inspiration to get you started…
Stairway to Heaven, Timucin Sagel

Forest Scent, Pavel Bautin

Pale Wind, Takayuki Fukada

Verve!, Chow Wai Sun

Way to Heaven, Dmitriy Parshin

Wild West, Stjepan Erdeljić

Untitled, Georgi Chaushev

Untitled, Francisco Wu

Untitled, Long Tran Hoang

Spirit of the Rain Forest, AJ Judy Prajitno Putra

Magic Forest, Chan Shih Hsien

After the Rain in Mountain, Katsuki Tanaka

Moment in Time, Nguyen Tien Dung

Ups and Downs, Nguyenthi Xuanthuy

The Late October, Piotr Beczynski

The Virgin Stream, Piotr Dymowski

Green Paradise, Quan Nguyen Minh-Green

Reaching, Robertus Hartono

Titiwangsa, Wei Cheong Chung

(via Colossal)