Pseudoboletia indiana

Before you buy: none of the sources consulted describes keeping this species in an aquarium. The advice below comes from general urchin guidelines and from Quality Marine's page on Pseudoboletia maculata, the species of the genus sold in the trade.

Acclimation: drip-acclimate it slowly and watch it for 24 to 48 hours; urchins are sensitive to changes in salinity, temperature and pH.

Setup: it is a large urchin (10 to 13 cm). Quality Marine describes Pseudoboletia as living on algae-covered rock and rubble and able to disturb the substrate and other inhabitants: secure rocks and frags well. In the wild it covers itself with pebbles and debris by day.

Sensitivities: no copper treatment in a tank that houses an urchin. SeaLifeBase rates it harmless to humans.

Water: for P. maculata, Quality Marine recommends 22 to 25.5 °C, a specific gravity of 1.023 to 1.025, pH 8.1 to 8.4 and 8 to 12 dKH; no values are published for P. indiana.

None of the sources consulted describes this species' diet, either in the wild or in the aquarium. Like all urchins, it scrapes its food off the bottom with the mouth on its underside.

For the genus, Quality Marine presents Pseudoboletia as mainly herbivorous, grazing algae and plant material on rock and substrate. If you keep one, supplement with dried seaweed (nori) when the tank's algae run low. No feeding frequency is sourced.