Takashi Amano
Takashi Amano (天野尚, Amano Takashi; 18 July 1954 – 4 August 2015) 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.
Takashi Amano
- Born
- 1954.
- Died
- 2015.
- Nationality
- Japan.
- Occupation
- photographer, naturalist and keirin cyclist.
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Takashi Amano (天野尚, Amano Takashi; 18 July 1954 – 4 August 2015) 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.
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Takashi Amano was keirin cyclist, naturalist and photographer and Japan. Takashi Amano was born in 1954. Died in 2015.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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Aquarist
Aquarist
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. 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.
His plant layouts incorporated Japanese gardening concepts such as Wabi-sabi and Zen rock arrangements. 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
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" 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 40 metres (130 ft) in length and holds 160,000 litres (35,000 imp gal; 42,000 US gal) 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
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
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.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1954
Takashi Amano was born in 1954.
2015
Takashi Amano died at Niigata.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Takashi Amano”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q730946: Takashi Amano
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Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Dvorak, Phred. The Sage of Aquariums. The Wall Street Journal. December 6, 2012.
- 2.Aqua Design Amano Co., Ltd. Founder - Takashi Amano ADA - NATURE AQUARIUM. Aqua Design Amano.
- 3.Amano, Takashi. Nature Aquarium World: Book 1. TFH Publications. March 1994. 0-7938-0089-7.
- 4.Amano, Takashi. Aquarium Plant Paradise. bede-Verlag. 1997. 9780793805181.
- 5.Freshwater and Marine Aquarium. United States: R/C Modeler Corporation, 2009.
- 6.Aquascaping pioneer Takashi Amano dies. Practical Fishkeeping. 13 June 2016.
- 7.Website of the City of Niigata (Japanese language)
- 8.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, .
- 9.Pedersen, Matt. The Passing of Aquascaping Legend Takashi Amano. AMAZONAS Magazine. 2015-08-06.
- 10.Amano shrimp. 14 September 2015.
- 11.Exhibit at Lisbon Oceanarium.
- 12.Massive 40m nature aquarium.
- 13.https://oceanario.pt/en/exhibitions/forests-underwater/
- 14.by. Nature Aquarium Creator: Takashi Amano. Aquascaping Love. 2016-03-09.
- 15.Aquariums that feature plants more than fish. Dallas News. 2011-06-22.
- 16.Biography AmanoTakashi.net. amanotakashi.net.
- 17.Takashi Amano Photo exhibit at G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit AmanoTakashi.net. 2023-08-13.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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