Bohadschia argus

Not recommended: Meerwasser-Lexikon rates it unsuitable for aquarium keeping. Its large size, its need for sand and above all its toxic Cuvierian tubules, ejected at the slightest stress, put the whole tank at risk. According to Rob Toonen (after Wilkens, 1998), about 1 g of tissue from these highly toxic species is enough to poison the fish in a 25-gallon (about 95-litre) tank.

If you have one anyway (in a public aquarium, for example): a very large tank with a wide area of sand where it can burrow, protected intakes, no handling and only peaceful tankmates. Fit every pump, powerhead and overflow intake with a large, securely fixed strainer: according to Rob Toonen, most 'cuke nukes' happen when a sea cucumber is sucked in and shredded. If it happens anyway, remove the animal at once, make a large water change, increase skimming and add activated carbon.

Acclimation: sea cucumbers are sensitive to changes in salinity. Acclimate it slowly by drip in a separate container, then move it without pouring the shipping water into the tank. Handle it as little as possible and with gloves: handling or relocating it can by itself trigger the release of holothurin.

Like other invertebrates, it tolerates neither copper treatments nor high nitrate; never put it in a copper-treated tank, not even in quarantine.

For you: the Cuvierian threads stick to the skin and irritate it; the toxins of these sea cucumbers cause moderate to severe skin and eye irritation, and cases of blindness have been reported after eye contact. Never touch it with bare hands.

A detritivore: as it moves over the bottom, it sweeps sand grains and detritus into its mouth with its sticky tentacles and gets part of its food from the biofilm coating the grains.

An animal this size processes a lot of organically rich sediment, which a home aquarium can hardly provide. None of the sources consulted gives a feeding method for captivity.