A Message from the AGAIAC Committee Chair

Hello Fellow Aquascapers,

On behalf of the Aquatic Gardeners Association and our esteemed judges, we are pleased to announce the results for the 2026 AGAIAC. The contest has had another outstanding year with over 420 aquascapes entered in 10 different categories including our new Classic category. This new category was quite popular and verified the popularity within the community and need for a place to showcase this style in our contest!

As in year’s past, the success of the contest is dependent on the hard work of our esteemed panel of judges. Our judges take time from their very busy schedules to thoughtfully assess, score and deliberate over every entry. It goes without saying that the AGAIAC is nothing without them. This year we added another new feature, and asked the judges from every category to weigh in and choose their “Judge’s Choice” award. This differs from Best of Show in that it gives the judges an opportunity to nominate an entry that may not have the highest score, but was incredible enough to warrant special note. This year’s winner stole the hearts of almost all of the judges, and we’re proud to have it as our first winner.

Our contest would not be possible without the generosity of our sponsors and 2026 is no exception. The AGAIAC is fortunate to have the support of many outstanding companies who are invested in aquascaping and the community, and who enable us to keep building and improving our contest and showcasing incredible works of art to the world.

Finally, I would also like to thank Jen Williams, Alex Franqui, and Brian Wigginton for all of their hard work on so many aspects of the AGAIAC. They have worked tirelessly to promote, manage the entries and judging process, and build the showcase and website for the community.

So, without further ado, enjoy this year's aquascapes!

Bailin Shaw
Contest Committee Chair