was a professional Japanese track cyclist, photographer, designer, and aquarist. He founded Aqua Design Amano (ADA), a Japanese company that specializes in the design of aquariums and their production.
Amano was the author of Nature Aquarium World (TFH Publications, 1994), a three-book series on aquascaping, freshwater aquarium plants, and fish. He also published the book Aquarium Plant Paradise (TFH Publications, 1997).
A species of freshwater shrimp, the "Amano shrimp" or "Yamato shrimp" (Caridina multidentata; previously Caridina japonica), was named after him.Freshwater and Marine Aquarium. United States: R/C Modeler Corporation, 2009. Amano discovered the species' ability to eat large quantities of algae. Amano ordered several thousand of them from a local distributor. They have since become widely used in freshwater planted aquariums.
Amano also developed a line of aquarium products under the Aqua Design Amano (ADA) brand. His aquarium column, "Nature Aquarium," appeared in the monthly magazines Practical Fishkeeping and Tropical Fish Hobbyist. He died of pneumonia in 2015 at the age of 61.Website of the City of Niigata (Japanese language)
Aquarist
His plant layouts incorporated Japanese gardening concepts such as Wabi-sabi and Zen rock arrangements.Axelrod, Herbert R., Warren E. Burgess, Neal Pronek, Glen S. Axelrod and David E. Boruchowitz (1998), Aquarium Fishes of the World, Neptune City, N.J.: TFH Publications, p. 718, . Amano frequently used Glossostigma elatinoides and Riccia fluitans as plant material.
He founded Aqua Design Amano Co., Ltd. in 1982, which provided aquatic plant-growing equipment. His photo books of what he called the "Nature Aquarium", Glass no Naka no Daishizen, published in 1992, followed by Mizu-Shizen eno kaiki, were translated into seven languages.
Amano shrimp
The Amano shrimp (Caridina multidentata) was introduced to the aquatic hobby by Takashi Amano as a method of controlling algae growth in the 1980s. The species was subsequently named after him.
"Forests Underwater" at Lisbon Oceanarium
"Forests Underwater" by Takashi Amano is a tropical freshwater aquarium at the Lisbon Oceanarium that features a diverse underwater landscape. The aquarium is in length and holds of water, and houses more than 10,000 individual fish of 40 different species. The exhibit opened on April 21, 2015, although it was initially intended to be a temporary exhibition lasting two years, "Forests Underwater" remained open for 11 years, closing on September 30, 2026.
Photography career Starting in 1975, Takashi Amano travelled across tropical rainforests in the Amazon, Borneo, and West Africa. He also visited forests in Japan, creating a series of photos focusing on "untouched nature" using large-format cameras. He used extra-large-films with sizes (up to 8 × 20 inches). His works have been featured internationally at several exhibitions and publications.
Amano gave lectures on his photographic expeditions and his experiences in nature around the world, and he advocated for the environmental importance of tree planting programs to support environmental conservation. He was a member of the Japan Professional Photographers Society, the Japan Advertising Photographers' Association, the International Environment Photographers Association, and the Society of Scientific Photography.
G8 Hokkaido Tōyako Summit Two of Takashi Amano's landscape photos, featuring a cedar forest on Sado Island, were displayed at the 34th G8 Summit Working Lunch/Outreach Working Session. The photos, taken with an 8 × 20-inch large format camera, were exhibited on 4 × 1.5 meter panels.
Bibliography Year Title Publisher Country ISBN 1992 Glass no Naka no Daishizen Marine Planning Japan 1994 Mizu-Shizen eno Kaiki Marine Planning Japan Nature Aquarium World TFH Publications U.S.A. Pflanzenparadies unter Wasser Natur Buch Verlag Germany 1996 Nature Aquarium World Book 2 TFH Publications U.S.A. Nature Aquarium World Book 3 TFH Publications U.S.A. De wonderlijke wereld onder water Natur Design Verlag Netherlands Faszinierendes Aquarium Natur Buch Verlag Germany Le Nouveau Monde des Plantes Aquatiques Natur Design Verlag France 1997 Aquarium Plant Paradises TFH Publications U.S.A. Amanos Naturaquarien Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori Italy 1998 Ihr Hobby-Naturaquarien Natur Buch Verlag Germany Diskus im Naturaquarium Natur Buch Verlag Germany Das Große Buch der Naturaquarien Natur Buch Verlag Germany Les aquariums naturels d'Amano JEH Productions France 2004 The Rio Negro Marine Planning Japan 2007 Sado – To Pristine Forest From Bottom of Sea ADA Japan 2009 Sado – To Pristine Forest From Bottom of Sea"Revised and Enlarged Edition" ADA Japan 2011 Nature Aquarium: Complete Works 1985–2009 TFH Publications U.S.A
Exhibitions Year Title Location Country 1998 Urin-Ujou Fuji Photo Salon, Tokyo Japan 2004 Dare mo Shiranai Amazon Niitsu Art Forum, Niigata Japan The Rio Negro Nizayama Forest Art Museum, Toyama Japan 2006 The Rio Negro Nature Info Plaza—Marunouchi Saezurikan, Tokyo Japan Sozo no Genten Amazon Toki Messe, Niigata Japan Kusatsu-Amazon Niigata Daiwa, Niigata Japan 2007 Sado-From bottom of the Sea to the Pristine Forest Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography Japan Daremo Shiranai Sado Niigata Prefectural Civic Center Japan 2008 Daremo Shiranai Sado Amusement Sado, Niigata Japan 2009 Sado – a Natural Treasure of Japan Qatar Photography Society, Doha Qatar 2009 Takashi Amano in India for Aquatika 2009 Nimhans Convention Hall, Bangalore India 2015 Forests Underwater Oceanário de Lisboa, Lisbon Portugal
References
External links AmanoTakashi.net – official website Aqua Design Amano Website News release about G8 Summit