Journal

Notes from the studio.

Short essays on the craft of planted aquariums. The boring, practical, and quietly beautiful parts of the work. Written between projects, never on a schedule.

This Month's Feature · Featured Style

On the rule of three stones.

Why the simplest aquascape is the hardest to do well.

Iwagumi looks effortless. Done properly, it requires more discipline than any other school of aquascaping. The empty space is doing all the work.

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May 20, 2026 · 6 min read

More essays

Featured Fish

6 min read

On Danio margaritatus.

The case for one species, told through a fish with two names.

The galaxy rasbora and the celestial pearl danio are the same fish. The story of how it got two names is also the story of why the studio recommends stocking one species, deeply, instead of many.

May 20, 2026

Practice

5 min read

On the first thirty days.

What cycling actually looks like.

Almost everyone thinks their new tank is broken in the first month. It isn't. It's quietly becoming itself.

May 20, 2026

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