Takashi Amano facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Takashi Amano (天野尚)
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| Born | July 18, 1954 |
| Died | August 4, 2015 (aged 61) Niigata, Japan
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| Nationality | Japanese |
| Known for | Photographer, aquarist |
| Awards | Fuji Film Nature Photo Contest, Grand Prix, 1992 |
Takashi Amano (天野尚, Amano Takashi, 18 July 1954 – 4 August 2015) was a very talented person from Japan. He was a professional track cyclist, a photographer, a designer, and an aquarist. An aquarist is someone who keeps aquariums.
Takashi Amano loved aquariums. This passion led him to start a Japanese company called Aqua Design Amano (ADA). He wrote books about setting up beautiful aquariums, like Nature Aquarium World. This series taught people how to create amazing underwater landscapes using plants and fish. He also wrote Aquarium Plant Paradise.
A special kind of freshwater shrimp is even named after him! It's called the "Amano shrimp" or "Yamato shrimp" (Caridina multidentata). He found out these shrimp eat a lot of algae, which helps keep aquariums clean. Because of him, these shrimp are now very popular for planted aquariums.
Takashi Amano also created many products for aquariums through his company, ADA. His articles about "Nature Aquarium" were featured in popular magazines like Practical Fishkeeping and Tropical Fish Hobbyist. He passed away in 2015 at 61 years old due to pneumonia.
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Creating Nature Aquariums
Takashi Amano was famous for his unique way of designing freshwater aquariums. This art is called aquascaping. He developed a special style for arranging plants in tanks.
He used ideas from Japanese gardens, like wabi-sabi (finding beauty in imperfection) and Zen rock arrangements. His goal was to make aquariums look exactly like real natural scenes. He often used plants like Glossostigma elatinoides and Riccia fluitans in his designs.
In 1982, he started Aqua Design Amano Co., Ltd. This company provided equipment for growing aquatic plants. His photo books, Glass no Naka no Daishizen and Mizu-Shizen eno kaiki, showed off his "Nature Aquarium" style. These books were translated into seven languages, sharing his ideas worldwide.
The Amano Shrimp
The Amano shrimp (Caridina multidentata) became popular in the aquarium hobby thanks to Takashi Amano. He introduced them in the 1980s. These shrimp are great at controlling algae growth in tanks. That's why this helpful shrimp was named after him!
Forests Underwater at Lisbon Oceanarium
One of Takashi Amano's biggest and most amazing works is the "Forests Underwater" exhibit. It's a huge tropical freshwater aquascape located at the Lisbon Oceanarium in Portugal. This giant aquarium is 40 metres (130 ft) long. It holds 160,000 litres (35,000 imp gal; 42,000 US gal) of water.
Inside, there are over 10,000 fish from 40 different species. The exhibit opened on April 21, 2015. It shows how beautiful and complex an underwater forest can be.
His Photography Career
Takashi Amano was also a talented photographer. Starting in 1975, he traveled to many places. He visited tropical rainforests in the Amazon, Borneo, and West Africa. He also explored untouched forests in Japan.
He took many photos focusing on "untouched nature." He used special large-format cameras to capture tiny details. His pictures were so clear and detailed. His work has been shown in exhibitions and books all over the world.
Amano often gave talks about his photography trips. He shared his experiences in nature. He also spoke about how important it is to plant trees to protect our environment. He was a member of several photography groups, including the Japan Professional Photographers Society.
Photos at the G8 Summit
Two of Takashi Amano's landscape photos were displayed at a very important meeting. This was the 34th G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan, in July 2008. The photos showed a beautiful cedar forest on Sado Island. They were taken with a huge 8 × 20-inch camera. The pictures were printed on large panels, measuring 4 × 1.5 meters.
