Mertensii on DD Today

[CoralsAddiction]

Who is buying it?
http://i.imgur.com/oC6YEj5.png

[CoralsAddiction]

LFS had one for $90 recently but it got sold.
http://i.imgur.com/Cz5akbv.png

[addictedreefer]

Got him. Will post pics on arrival.

[CoralsAddiction]

Got him. Will post pics on arrival.

Congrats! What a perfect size for a Merten's given how large they get in the wild.

[addictedreefer]

Congrats! What a perfect size for a Merten's given how large they get in the wild.

Thanks. I'm pretty excited. I live in the NYC area with tons of great LFS around, but have never seen a Mertens. He'll be going into a 210, so he'll have plenty of room to stretch out.

[D-Nak]

Not a bad price on either one. Most LFS don't know what they are when they come in. The last one I saw was priced as a "carpet anemone" for $40 but it was in really bad shape. Prior to that, the LFS that does know what they are had them priced for a few hundred (I don't remember the exact amount).

[CoralsAddiction]

Another one popped up today for the same price. Looks good but I like the one from yesterday a little more. Also, DD is offering free shipping on $175+

[CoralsAddiction]

Got him. Will post pics on arrival.

Did it arrive in good shape?

[addictedreefer]

Did it arrive in good shape?

Won't be here until Saturday morning. Will update when he comes in.

[addictedreefer]

Apologies for the delayed update. The anemone arrived yesterday morning in excellent condition. It is very small for a mertensi (the 6 inch measurement from DD is a little too generous IMO). Also, it is more brown than I had hoped, but hopefully will color up under better lighting. I plan to QT the anemone for at least two weeks so as to minimize risk to my existing nems. Pics below.

[BonsaiNut]

Apologies for the delayed update. The anemone arrived yesterday morning in excellent condition. It is very small for a mertensi (the 6 inch measurement from DD is a little too generous IMO). Also, it is more brown than I had hoped, but hopefully will color up under better lighting. I plan to QT the anemone for at least two weeks so as to minimize risk to my existing nems. Pics below.

Awesome! Looking forward to when it gets gigantic!

[CoralsAddiction]

Looks good. It should complement your neon green Haddoni nicely if you're going to put it on the bottom level.

[Ron Popeil]

it will not take long to get big! every feeding my mertens seems to grow inches in diameter. youll appreciate the small size, i assure you! i hope yours develops the greens that the DD picture seemed to have.

ps i just recently discovered how potent this anemone can be when it meets a powerhead. none of your fish will last long, maybe 20 minutes tops. be careful!

[Lucky Lefty]

What is it about this nem that calls for such a high price tag? I'm sure that's a dumb question, but is this just a rare find that drives the price? Thanks

[pinnatus]

it will not take long to get big! every feeding my mertens seems to grow inches in diameter. youll appreciate the small size, i assure you! i hope yours develops the greens that the DD picture seemed to have.

ps i just recently discovered how potent this anemone can be when it meets a powerhead. none of your fish will last long, maybe 20 minutes tops. be careful!

Are you the real Ron Popeil?

[phender]

What is it about this nem that calls for such a high price tag? I'm sure that's a dumb question, but is this just a rare find that drives the price? Thanks

We drive the price. When they used to come in on accident, they were less than $60. Sometimes they still do/are.

They are not collected very often because they are usually some shade of brown and are hard to find in a small, aquarium appropriate sizes. When an online retailer gets one, they know there will be a least one anemone collector out there that will pay a ridiculous price, because they have always wanted one.

It will depend on the collector, wholesaler or retailer(usually a LFS). If one of those people in the chain recognizes it as a mertensii, then sometimes the price will go up. If it comes in as "assorted carpet" and no one pays attention, you can get one for less than a brown haddoni.

Unfortunately, people trying to sell anemones don't order "assorted carpets" anymore because they are difficult to sell to the average LFS shopper. Since no one buys them, they don't get collected. Since they aren't collected, they become hard to get. So, when one is offered, some people don't mind paying a premium price.

Beware paying a high price! I have had several mertensii. Unless you are truly an anemone nut-job, having a brown anemone that is rapidly outgrowing your tank, killing corals, etc., can get old real fast.

[addictedreefer]

I for one am proud to count myself among the nut jobs!

[Dkuhlmann]

Where does the mouth exist on these or is it strictly a sunlight feeder off of it's zoo?https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Sea_anemone_mad_1.JPG

[Winwood]

I think the appeal to this species is twofold. One, it seems to cause melanism in a number of clown species and two, it is the quintessential/preferred host species for a number of the large and hard to come by clarkii complex members.

[Winwood]

Where does the mouth exist on these or is it strictly a sunlight feeder off of it's zoo?https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Sea_anemone_mad_1.JPG

The mouth is in the center of the anemone just like all other species. Those anemones pictured aren't mertensii however, those are H. magnifica.

[OrionN]

Agree with Winwood. The bubble tip of the tentacles give it away. Magnifica, not Gigantea