Fish rarely have an opinion about the colour of the gravel underneath them — that choice belongs entirely to whoever is looking through the glass, which is why a range sold purely on colour makes sense even though it changes nothing for the tank's occupants.

This is Pettex's Roman Gravel in the Lakeland tone: a natural silicate aggregate rather than a dyed one, so the shade and grain size vary piece to piece the way any unprocessed material does. It's rated for coldwater, tropical and saltwater set-ups, and doubles as a planting substrate thanks to its increased surface area.

• Natural aquarium gravel, Lakeland tone
• Suitable for coldwater, tropical and saltwater aquariums
• Functions as a planting substrate
• Helps maintain pH stability
• Natural product — expect some variation in colour and grain size
• Sold by Pettex, in more than one pack option

On what's in the bag. Being a natural gravel rather than a manufactured, uniform one means two bags are unlikely to look perfectly identical — that's the trade-off for it not being artificially coloured. This page also covers more than one pack size; check what you're ordering at checkout.

Who it's for: fishkeepers who want an earthy, natural-toned gravel for a coldwater, tropical or saltwater set-up rather than a bright or mixed-colour one.