Big day on LiveAquaria DD for anemone folks
- Thread starter D-Nak
- Start date
marc price
Active member
no.
taylor t
New member
$799.99 plus shipping, riff raff, you've got to be kidding me!
It's not rare, has a wide geographical distribution range, is no more difficult to collect then any other species of clownfish hosting carpet anemone. And those colors are so blown...well if you like allot of blue lighting on your tanks...
QUOTE]
I agree with the coloring being too much/fake... but, If they are really so common, and easy to collect, why are there not more around? Importers have to know people are looking for them... AND, willing to pay for them... Just look at what DD is asking - proof they think there's a market... If they seem to ship well, others have said they never see one in bad shape at the whole salers...when they have seen them... If they were so common, wouldn't they be more like a condy? Those are a dime a dozen. I see them everywhere, yet, few people here want them... but, dealers still get condy's in, so they must sell... point being, condy's are very bland and still sell (bland just like the mertens). And still, there's a thread every once in a while with someone that can't get their condy happy, not knowing anything about anemone's. I like to look for threads about new mertens, but seems like anyone that gets one (few and far between), starts a thread, very few ever update (good or bad). Leaves me wondering why. Not trying to pick a fight, but one person says one thing, one another... leaves me wondering who really knows what about anything.....I for one, have much to learn still... Are they really that common in the wild? One guy says they are common, another says they aren't. One posts a pic of a mertens in the shallows, another pic in the deep, yet, another says they are a deep water anemone and that's why they aren't collected, then one says they are common, just too big. One says they get too big too fast. Mine hasn't gotten over 2 feet in several years. No bigger than any haddoni or gig that does well IMO. I've seen 2' carpets at the LFS, but no mertens of any size. One says they dive and have never seen them... Who knows... Now there's one that is only 5" big for sale, for big money. Who really knows? I don't know, I can't afford to go where they would be to see for myself, the only real way to know for sure... everyone says anything they want - I know I've been told (and read) some pure crap from "reputable" places over the years.
I agree, I too, would not write off the rich as riff raff. They pay my bills... I've been in some very expensive homes with large systems. Most pay a service to stock and maintain their systems. It's a job for someone, who in turn spends somewhere else. Keeps the economy going. With out them, many would be with out a job. Because it may be more than I'm willing to or able to spend, I really don't understand why people need to throw them under the bus because they have money. Most likely, who ever buys it won't post after all the flames on the rich, which is sad because I'd be interested in reading a thread about the one at DD in the future.
D-Nak
Active member
A couple of things:
1. I didn't mean to cause a stir with my "riff raff" comment. I was kidding, and just meant that they priced it high so that newbies wouldn't jump on it. But, the reality is, I think they priced it high because it truly is a collector's anemone and can command a high price. What I mean by that, is that for whatever reason, mertensii aren't seen for sale very often, thus making it a rare item. Obviously "rare" drives the price up, high for some, fine for others, but cost prohibitive for most. But we just need to keep in mind that collectors will pay -- what some people think is -- an outrageous amount of money to buy something for their collection.
2. LA DD can charge a high amount because they can. My understanding is that they are the largest (correct me if I'm wrong here) online retail dealer of aquarium livestock. This means that they also have the biggest audience. I think they do a VERY good job of catering to everyone in that audience -- from newbies looking for deals to collectors looking for a deepwater candy basslet and a Dr. Suess soapfish and mertensii. I also believe that they quarantine as they say they do, and their arrive alive warranty is the best in the business. I'm hoping that the sale of a rare item like the mertensii at a high price offsets the cost of other items on the lower end. And finally, unlike the LFS that needs to sell a rare items as soon as they get them to not take a loss if it dies, LA can sit on a item longer since they are a bigger enterprise, which allows them to ask for more initially. I've seen many rare items on DD "go on sale" after a couple of weeks if no one bites.
3. My understanding is that mertensii aren't collected very often for a few different reasons: most are very big and make them hard and impractical to collect, many aren't very brightly colored, so they are passed up on the reef for other nems that are more eye catching, and small ones -- like all carpet anemones -- are rare to begin with. I'd venture to guess (based on photos I've seen of mertensii in the wild) that most are a dull brown color, and while the verrucae are brightly colored, they won't sell nearly as well as a brightly colored one so they aren't collected (this is a good thing). The nicely colored ones tend to be the smaller ones (thus even more rare), and interestingly enough my understanding is that they are more brightly colored -- especially the white markings -- when they are stressed and these tend to go away when they settle in.
I'm sure this particular mertensii went to a nice home. I'm assuming it went to a collector, and most collectors tend to take good care of their collections (say that quickly ten times!). Now, where are those "African Ritteri" anemones?
1. I didn't mean to cause a stir with my "riff raff" comment. I was kidding, and just meant that they priced it high so that newbies wouldn't jump on it. But, the reality is, I think they priced it high because it truly is a collector's anemone and can command a high price. What I mean by that, is that for whatever reason, mertensii aren't seen for sale very often, thus making it a rare item. Obviously "rare" drives the price up, high for some, fine for others, but cost prohibitive for most. But we just need to keep in mind that collectors will pay -- what some people think is -- an outrageous amount of money to buy something for their collection.
2. LA DD can charge a high amount because they can. My understanding is that they are the largest (correct me if I'm wrong here) online retail dealer of aquarium livestock. This means that they also have the biggest audience. I think they do a VERY good job of catering to everyone in that audience -- from newbies looking for deals to collectors looking for a deepwater candy basslet and a Dr. Suess soapfish and mertensii. I also believe that they quarantine as they say they do, and their arrive alive warranty is the best in the business. I'm hoping that the sale of a rare item like the mertensii at a high price offsets the cost of other items on the lower end. And finally, unlike the LFS that needs to sell a rare items as soon as they get them to not take a loss if it dies, LA can sit on a item longer since they are a bigger enterprise, which allows them to ask for more initially. I've seen many rare items on DD "go on sale" after a couple of weeks if no one bites.
3. My understanding is that mertensii aren't collected very often for a few different reasons: most are very big and make them hard and impractical to collect, many aren't very brightly colored, so they are passed up on the reef for other nems that are more eye catching, and small ones -- like all carpet anemones -- are rare to begin with. I'd venture to guess (based on photos I've seen of mertensii in the wild) that most are a dull brown color, and while the verrucae are brightly colored, they won't sell nearly as well as a brightly colored one so they aren't collected (this is a good thing). The nicely colored ones tend to be the smaller ones (thus even more rare), and interestingly enough my understanding is that they are more brightly colored -- especially the white markings -- when they are stressed and these tend to go away when they settle in.
I'm sure this particular mertensii went to a nice home. I'm assuming it went to a collector, and most collectors tend to take good care of their collections (say that quickly ten times!). Now, where are those "African Ritteri" anemones?
marc price
Active member
If you're looking for a credible opinion -
Phil Henderson has been at this for a long time and was about the first person to write for the hobby of anemone husbandry at a time when most all authors said they can not and should not be kept by aquarist because they will have a very high mortality rate.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1476041&highlight=mertens
Phil Henderson has been at this for a long time and was about the first person to write for the hobby of anemone husbandry at a time when most all authors said they can not and should not be kept by aquarist because they will have a very high mortality rate.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1476041&highlight=mertens
I have been lucky enough to get two mertens carpets. One was about 12" across when I got it. The other was ~4". The retail prices were $50 and $22 respectively. When I got mine most hobbyists did know what a mertens was. One of them was IDed correctly by the wholesaler the other was an "assorted carpet"
In my experience they do ship very well. The few that I have seen at wholesalers and the one I saw at a LFS were all in good shape.
Be warned, if it is a mertens, that 8-12" anemone will swell up to 16" once it acclimates to your tank and will be 24" before you know it.
I think you should ask yourself, "Why do you want one so bad?"
It is just a brownish yellow anemone. Its not like they do back flips or something when you feed them. You will rarely see the underside or the foot, which actually has some color. They aren't rare in the wild, just usually too big to collect.
For $50 it would be a nice anemone because it is accepted by most clowns, doesn't have a powerful sting and its hardy on par with haddoni, but for $500 no way. Unfortunately someone will buy it at that price and that will set the standard for prices in the future.
Did anyone take offense? Dunno, I thought it was funny.
YES, yes I did... I was so shocked that I nearly dropped my bottle of Grey Poupon!
deangelr
Clown Whisperererer
D-Nak
Active member
THe first time I posted, there were two on the Sneak Peak, but they never appeared on the site. A couple days later, same thing but there was only one listed. Today's Sneak Peak doesn't even have it listed. Not sure what happened. Assuming they do QT like they say, after a month they should've been fine (or dead) so I'm curious to know if they show up again.
Or someone that requested them picked them up already. When I have been on the notify list for things I noticed they did not appear. (well I ordered it too)
Once I did not click on order and it went to the next person I assume, but still did not appear on the site.
Once I did not click on order and it went to the next person I assume, but still did not appear on the site.
I was told when calling about a blue haddoni a few years back that sometimes Sneak Peak items aren't listed because they can't get a good photo. The sneak peek is a list of items that are ready to ship and will be photoed that day. If the image doesn't turn out as anticipated, or if there is a notable decline in health, it won't be listed. The example for a change in health was that of Fish fin damage, not anemone decline.
D-Nak
Active member
They were some of the most striking Mags I've seen in years hang on pic coming
Incredible depth of color for a mag I don't care if it had the "African" red foot or not. Decent price for that color too. Sorry for the phone pic...
You think? I'm having a hard time telling what the true color is. If purplish-mauve with light tips, I thought those are common, like the tan ones.
