Mertensii Carpet Anemone Update.....

[Taipan]

After initially having mistaken it for a Gigantea:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2362120

The smaller one did not fare well. The larger one however; seems to have flourished.

Here are some updated pics: Gold Tipped Burgundy Mertensii.....

[DarthNater]

gorgeous!

[worm5406]

Just nice and beautiful.

Do you have any video?

[Taipan]

Thanks for the kind words. Video....can be arranged . I'll post a little later. Cheers.

[davocean]

Very nice!
I'm curious, I would have mis ID'd as a gig as well w/ that purple spotted column, what defines it as a mertensi?

[Reefvette]

The difference between the two is that the spots on a mertens dont stop they go all the way down the to the foot.

[davocean]

Originally Posted by Reefvette

The difference between the two is that the spots on a mertens dont stop they go all the way down the to the foot.

Thank you, nice to know!

[phender]

Originally Posted by Reefvette

The difference between the two is that the spots on a mertens dont stop they go all the way down the to the foot.

In addition, the spots on a gig are blue or purple. The spots on a mertens are orange or magenta. In both cases the color changes to red stripes as you get closer to the foot. I know in your mind there might not be a big difference between purple and magenta, but when you see a mertens with magenta spots, the difference will be obvious.

I spent years looking under carpet anemone skirts in wholesalers tanks for my first mertens, thinking that they must be there and I was just missing them. When I finally saw one (way before the big rush) there was absolutely no doubt as to what it was (even before I looked under the skirt) and I certainly hadn't been "missing" them in the wholesalers tanks. They just have a completely different appearance than the other carpets, especially when they are a little stressed in a dealer's tank.

[Taipan]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I could not have stated it better myself....especially after learning from all that have contributed to my inquires in the past.

[davocean]

Originally Posted by phender

In addition, the spots on a gig are blue or purple. The spots on a mertens are orange or magenta. In both cases the color changes to red stripes as you get closer to the foot. I know in your mind there might not be a big difference between purple and magenta, but when you see a mertens with magenta spots, the difference will be obvious.

I spent years looking under carpet anemone skirts in wholesalers tanks for my first mertens, thinking that they must be there and I was just missing them. When I finally saw one (way before the big rush) there was absolutely no doubt as to what it was (even before I looked under the skirt) and I certainly hadn't been "missing" them in the wholesalers tanks. They just have a completely different appearance than the other carpets, especially when they are a little stressed in a dealer's tank.

Good to know, I've been mainly keeping Crispa's, Doreensis, Malu, and equad, trying to step up on my nem ID's of some of the more challenging nems.

[Berje]

Wow they look nice, been looking into getting one for my tank.

[OrionN]

I saw a dying Mertensii carpet in a LFS in Houston in person. The first and only Mertensii I saw in person. There is no mistake it from a Haddoni or Gigantea. Much brighter spots and the spots go all the ways down the foot. I can't say that I have seen that many Merten in person. I certainly seen plenty of Haddoni and 25+/- Gigantea in person.

[davocean]

Yeah in all my years of looking I have only seen one mertensi as well, and had to be told that's what it was, and that was only because it caught my eye being white, but not looking like a typical bleached nem.
It was humongous!

[deangelr]

Somebody get this!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carpet-Anemo...3D231258375523

[justinky]

Originally Posted by deangelr

Somebody get this!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carpet-Anemo...3D231258375523

Yet another misleading photo on ebay, thanks for a textbook example. With the white balance going on in that photo who knows what is actually looks like, at $500 you've gotta be kidding me.

[Reefahholic]

Originally Posted by justinky

Yet another misleading photo on ebay, thanks for a textbook example. With the white balance going on in that photo who knows what is actually looks like, at $500 you've gotta be kidding me.

That's a mert!


Taipan, does that mert have red spots or purple. The ones I've seen have red, but yours looks like he has purple spots.

[justinky]

Originally Posted by Reefahholic

That's a mert!


Taipan, does that mert have red spots or purple. The ones I've seen have red, but yours looks like he has purple spots.

How can you tell? The photo poorly shows the product, who knows what it looks like. Also he claims it to be red unless he just means on the foot which is why it has the $500 price tag. The seller has a score of 27 on feedback which means he doesn't have a reputation to think about at this point as he can just make a new account if he has to.

If you're going to put a $500 price tag on something and truly have something unique worth the price tag, take the time to properly show the product is all I am saying.

Also Jared, look at his thumb. The anemone is barely larger, i'm not saying merts can't be that small as I know haddoni's can but still.

[justinky]

After photo shopping it is a merts, I thought it was but the guy still should of spent a bit more time on the photo to show what it really looks like. *I'm not that good at editing colors*

[Reefahholic]

Spots go all the way to pedal disc.

Originally Posted by justinky

How can you tell? The photo poorly shows the product, who knows what it looks like. Also he claims it to be red unless he just means on the foot which is why it has the $500 price tag. The seller has a score of 27 on feedback which means he doesn't have a reputation to think about at this point as he can just make a new account if he has to.

If you're going to put a $500 price tag on something and truly have something unique worth the price tag, take the time to properly show the product is all I am saying.

Also Jared, look at his thumb. The anemone is barely larger, i'm not saying merts can't be that small as I know haddoni's can but still.

[D-Nak]

I'm not sure whats causing the confusion or concern. It's 100% a mertensii. And the color could be accurate, though the tips are probably not as bright of an orange as they appear in the photo. Mertensii typically have bright red verrucae that become red lines towards the foot, creating a bright red base. They're actually almost the opposite of gigs, where the verrucae fade towards the foot. It's unfortunate that the foot is typically the most colorful part of a mert, where the oral disk and tentacles are oftentimes drab brown or green. In terms of size, it looks like it's acclimating which mean it could feasibly double or even triple in size.

I've seen three merts in person, and all except one looked like the one in the photo. All three were extremely small -- less than 6" across. The one that didn't look like the photo was badly bleached and got chewed up in a powerhead. My friend gave it to me and I tried to bring it back from the dead, but the powerhead chewed it up all the way to its mouth, and since it was bleached, it couldn't get any nutrients (no zooxanthellae and a ripped mouth so I couldn't feed it), and it eventually starved to death. However, the entire time, it had bright red verrucae.

Regarding price, given its rarity, a dollar amount is hard to determine. My friend picked up the one I tried to rehabilitate for $40 because the LFS didn't know what it was. The other two were at another LFS, and because they knew what it was, they priced it high and waited for a buyer of rare anemones. Both times we were able to place the nems in capable hands -- actually members of RC -- for what they were asking (though it was less than $500). When you think about the price of red haddoni, especially when sold via Live Aquaria, $500 for a mertensii doesn't surprise me.

[justinky]

Originally Posted by D-Nak

I'm not sure whats causing the confusion or concern. It's 100% a mertensii. And the color could be accurate, though the tips are probably not as bright of an orange as they appear in the photo. Mertensii typically have bright red verrucae that become red lines towards the foot, creating a bright red base. They're actually almost the opposite of gigs, where the verrucae fade towards the foot. It's unfortunate that the foot is typically the most colorful part of a mert, where the oral disk and tentacles are oftentimes drab brown or green. In terms of size, it looks like it's acclimating which mean it could feasibly double or even triple in size

Basically the confusion was from me not paying attention to the little details and just paying attention to a mixture of a bad photo depiction (imo), price tag and the sellers feedback score. So many people try to photo manipulate to get a higher price on their item, in this case the photo was taken under actinics to show the glow effect. So it was my fault for not fully paying attention to the anemone.

I do have a question though, what makes merts so rare in the hobby? Availability for harvest, rare in general or?

[Taipan]

Originally Posted by Reefahholic

That's a mert!


Taipan, does that mert have red spots or purple. The ones I've seen have red, but yours looks like he has purple spots.

The spots are more on the red all the way down to the foot. However; I have seen spots that are more towards the shade purple as well. As others have stated; lighting plays a big role on how your eyes will perceive colouration.

[D-Nak]

Originally Posted by justinky

I do have a question though, what makes merts so rare in the hobby? Availability for harvest, rare in general or?

My understanding is that most are not collected because when placed side-by-side next to another carpet anemone, most mertensii are drab in comparison. Add to this that most merts found are over 24" and it doesn't make sense for a collector to try to remove it. From what I've seen they're quite hardy, and they ship a lot better than gigantea. I only know of one that died after it reached the LFS.

I found the photo of one that my LFS has a couple of years ago:



It was tiny. But the colors were cool.

[Greg 45]

When I had led,s over the mertens you can change the appearance or color of the anemone. Making the picture worth a million dollars. After talking to orionN and switching back to metal halides they look brown or a shade of green will get some photo's of them under the m/h lamps.

[deangelr]

Originally Posted by justinky

Yet another misleading photo on ebay, thanks for a textbook example. With the white balance going on in that photo who knows what is actually looks like.

Exactly why I would love to see more pictures!