Frederic Fuss is a firm part of the core of the German aquascaping scene. What began as a hobby has now become a profession for him, and Frederic now offers various services in the setup and maintenance of Nature Aquariums as the operator of the site "Aquariengestalter.de". As an aquascaper, he has already scored a number of successful entries in international competitions. Currently, Frederic is even a judge himself for contests such as the IIAC and has himself organized several competitions, such as the "Nordic Scapers Hardscape Challenge" and the "Miniswamp Contest". Both found quite great resonance all over the world and are an enrichment for the hobby.

Aram Schneider (AS) had the opportunity to ask Frederic Fuss (FF) a few questions, and you can now read the complete interview here in our Aquascaping Wiki.

The interview

AS: "What are your influences, where do you get your inspiration and ideas? Which artists have influenced you?"

FF: "I have basically always enjoyed looking around in nature. When the hobby of aquariums came along, I first had to read a lot about how it works. In doing so, I naturally also came across some aquascapes. Above all, Amano's works inspired me to set up Nature Aquariums, or aquascapes, myself. By now I know a lot of great artists in the field; the layouts of Wang Chao appeal to me the most – he rarely repeats himself and his works very often have something never seen before, which I like a lot. Beyond that, I keep liking the work of Dave Chow, Juan Puchades, Masashi Ono, Josh Sim and Luca Galarraga, to name just a few."

AS: "The topic of Wabi-Kusa is certainly one of your hobbyhorses. How did that come about, or what makes a Wabi-Kusa interesting to you?"

FF: "I think Wabi-Kusa is a great addition to aquascaping and comparatively easy to do without much effort. Similar to aquariums or terrariums, a small habitat emerges with Wabi-Kusa – a miniature swamp in the living room! That is nice, lively and exotic, a well-rounded thing. I came to Wabi-Kusa out of the predicament of having just taken down my tank. It was shortly before vacation and I thought I would just give it a try. It worked out great right away. I developed my own simple recipes and was astonished to find that others find it very difficult. I have now given workshops on the topic and in the last 3 years launched an international competition on the topic. I think there are still some interesting developments to be observed – I am curious what is still to come and look forward to it!"

AS: "What is your fertilization concept for planted aquariums?"

FF: "It depends a bit. I try to stay relatively close to the nutrient needs of the plants, whereby I fear a deficiency more than a surplus. In principle I run a base-plus-bolus fertilization, meaning I always have a detectable minimum amount in the tank and ensure optimal conditions with the daily fertilization. I have set a medium level of nutrients for myself and adapt it to the lighting and/or planting. Crypts, Microsorum and moss need a bit less, stem plants a bit more, etc.

The functionality of the fertilizers must of course be given, and safety and easy handling also play a role. I have now been using the Aqua Rebell fertilizers for years, and I also like to hand them to my customers. For simple setups or customer aquariums, I almost always use the combination of GH Boost N, Makro Basic NPK and Spezial Flowgrow. These are now always dosed automatically every day by a dosing pump. After the water change, besides the NPK, I also fertilize with Mikro Basic Eisen. I hope to avoid in this way that neither I, half asleep, nor my customers mix up the nitrate fertilizer with the phosphate fertilizer, which would be really stupid!
Now and then I also use individual components for the macros, when it gets more demanding and I want to vary a bit more."

AS: "What is your favorite material, e.g. which types of stone and aquatic plants?"

FF: "Actually, I do not have one. I still want to try many materials and plants, and I do not hold on to what has already worked well. I have had good experiences with river driftwood… Well, I think that is my favorite wood! For stones, I love Frodo stones, but black pagoda is not bad either."

AS: "How long have you been in the hobby?"

FF: "I discovered it by chance in October 2011 and then started in 2012. I wish I had come across it earlier, though – there is no cooler hobby!"

AS: "What are your greatest successes in competitions?"

FF: "They would be as follows:

• AGA 2015 (Aquatic Gardeners Association) Top Ten placement
• EAPLC (European Aquatic Plant Layout Contest 1st place 2015 (Nano category) 1st place 2015 (Wabi Kusa category)
• EAPLC (European Aquatic Plant Layout Contest) 9th place 2014 (Nano category)
• And of course the victory at the WeScape Battle 2016! :D"

AS: "You are now also very much in demand as a judge for aquascaping competitions. What appeals to you about this task?"

FF: " I have been a judge for the IIAC (Ista International Aquascaping Contest) since 2016, and for the Reeflowers Contest since 2017 as well. At the AAC (Austrian Aquascaping Contest) 2017 I once had the pleasure of judging at a live contest, and up to this year (2019) I had two competitions of my own running. Such competitions are simply good advertising for the hobby, and I am glad to do my part. The NSHC (Hardscape Challenge) and the Miniswamps Contest (Wabi Kusa) were meant to put the focus on topics that tend to lead a shadowy existence, and to spread fun!
Beyond that, it is great to see something completely new and to take a position on it right away. Do I like the layout? Do I not like it so much? And why?
As a judge you have to observe the requirements of the organizer, and the weighting is often different. Then you have to be fair to all participants. Competition work is a kind of puzzle. You have to evaluate the objective criteria but must not switch off your heart while doing so; in the end a picture emerges."

AS: "If you had to choose between a beautiful stone and a beautiful aquatic plant, which would you take?"

FF: "A Rorschach test for aquascapers? Well…
…then I would rather take the stone!"

AS: "Haha! You passed the test :-) Thank you very much for the interview."

Copyright for all photos in the article: Frederic Fuss.