I decided to get pebbles not sand.
so now I need to pick a size and color.

I appreciate your opinion

As long as the pebbles are not too big its just a matter of personal preference. You want a size that a large oscar can at least get a few in his mouth and can move around. Mine is called dorset pea large gravel, the maker is called pettex. The gravel is about 8-10mm average size


Colour again is personal preference however i have heard that some of the coloured stones(colour added- not natural colour) will lose the colour over time. I personally like the natural mix

The colored stuff can fade over time, or from over washing ... but most of mine has stayed close to the purchase color.

I have tried a lot of different colors, but, next time, I think I am going with natural grays and blacks, since I am not into browns much.

Just go to all the stores you can, and look at all their stock. You have to love it, because it is not fun to change it after the tank is up and running (though not impossible). Some stores use various colors in their tanks.

Decide whether you want to compliment, match, or contrast your Os colors.

I have always had dark colors, so, I don't know if they would self-adjust their colors based on the gravel, I can tell you, my O is very dark most of the time I have owned him. Not sure if a lighter gravel would make him show more pattern or a lighter hue.

Hope you find what you are looking for

i like black as its more natural

I use black gravel, i find it brings out the colour of the fish!

i have like river pebbles not much bigger than a finger nail

I just set up my new 150 gal with dark river gravel, a medium size and basically a solid dark brown. The fish look awesome with it. Before, I had a multi colored brown
river gravel which was very nice too but I think the solids look better. We were originally going with the black or blue but prefer the river look. Again, its all a matter of preference. I see where people even match the gravels to go with the decor of thier rooms. Again, they look nice too! But like someone said, look around to as many store as you can, I did the same. So many colors out there and and so many things you want to experience, lol.
Have fun!!!!!!