How much would you pay for a mertensii?

[D-Nak]

Just curious to know how much people have paid for theirs, and/or what they think they are worth. I realize that they can be considered rare so the price can vary. I had an opportunity to purchase one, but passed on it since I have my heart set on a purple or blue gigantea. I don't want to be kicking myself for passing up the opportunity to buy it, but all of the mertensii I've seen don't have much color in comparison to a gigantea.

 

[jeffm59]

Where did you see a mertensii - a LFS in the bay area ? If you aren't interested, I am all over it.

 

[Reefvette]

They are crappy colors non are reallly blue or green. Red

350 is high end 200 low

 

[deangelr]

They are crappy colors non are reallly blue or green. Red

350 is high end 200 low

I think the high is closer to $500. I've seen them sell or that anyways..

And the last one posted here on the forum recently was really colorful and really smally.. Funny when all I hear is that are huge and brown.. Must have been a baby..

 

[D-Nak]

So, the factor that's driving up the price is rarity then? Sounds like it's definitely not the color. Or, can someone point me to a photo of a nice looking one? I feel like I'm missing something here -- $200-$500 for a drab looking anemone?

I read that they are uncommon in the trade since they aren't very colorful = less desirable. Yet, the price would dictate otherwise.

I've also seen photos of mertensii that have really short tentacles like haddoni, and also longer tentacles like gigantea. I am guessing that some of the IDs of the photos are incorrect. Which would be a more accurate tentacle length?

It is nice to here however, that (according to an anemone expert who sometimes posts on this forum) they are hardy and make a nice addition to a tank.

 

[taylor t]

Here's mine. Not the most colorful. I would think drab is a good word, but I can look past the color at it's health. It does very well in captivity. Very nice anemone when healthy. It's all folded from eating an hour ago. I don't remember what I paid, maybe 2 or 300? I got it from RHS a while back.

 

[elegance coral]

The price really depends on who has it for sale. The few that do enter the trade often show up listed as "carpet" anemone, or something generic like that. If they don't know what they have, the price can be ~$50. It's only when a dealer knows what they have that the price goes up to the $500 range.

 

[Reefvette]

Elegance

Elegance

Hes right, 500 is a high end.

I have found that the color mertens taylors has does much better in captivity then the greyish purple ones.

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

$50

 

[deangelr]

can someone point me to a photo of a nice looking one? I feel like I'm missing something here -- $200-$500 for a drab looking anemone?

Are these nice? I think they are pretty cool, at least not too drab. (assuming they are mertensi)

 

[Reefvette]

De Anglr, the point people are making is that they dont show up in reds and neoon greens and blues.

Most people glance over a mertens for the nice neon green haddoni.

 

[deangelr]

Ok.. cool..

I have lots of anemone photos I thought I would share a few since D-Nak asked for pics.

 

[phender]

I think there are several reasons they don't show up often.
1) Most are not very colorful so divers don't collect them, although I have seen some pics of bright green ones in the wild.
2) It is hard to find small ones in the wild. The shipping cost on a 2-3 foot anemone is huge. For most importers its just not worth it for a brown anemone.
3) They are found a little deeper than other carpets and don't occur in clusters.

As for the price, I must admit that I got mine before the craze. My first one (18") I bought as a mertens for $25 wholesale (about $50 retail). The second one (~8") I got as an "assorted carpet" for $15 wholesale. I bought one the size of a silver dollar a year or so ago for $40 retail.
The pricing is almost a reverse supply and demand. In the general population there are not many people who would buy one for any price. They just aren't that attractive compared to other carpets. On the other hand, there are a few folks who will buy one at almost any price when one actually does come in. So if you bring in one, you can sell it for $300. If you bring in 20, you can sell 3 for $300 and then you are stuck with the rest of them.

 

[D-Nak]

Ok.. cool..

I have lots of anemone photos I thought I would share a few since D-Nak asked for pics.

Thanks for this. I actually saw the post that had the photo. The mertensii I saw actually looked exactly like this one. I still think it's one of the nicest I've seen, but again it's not saying much since most of these are drab.

I think there are several reasons they don't show up often.
1) Most are not very colorful so divers don't collect them, although I have seen some pics of bright green ones in the wild.
2) It is hard to find small ones in the wild. The shipping cost on a 2-3 foot anemone is huge. For most importers its just not worth it for a brown anemone.
3) They are found a little deeper than other carpets and don't occur in clusters.

As for the price, I must admit that I got mine before the craze. My first one (18") I bought as a mertens for $25 wholesale (about $50 retail). The second one (~8") I got as an "assorted carpet" for $15 wholesale. I bought one the size of a silver dollar a year or so ago for $40 retail.
The pricing is almost a reverse supply and demand. In the general population there are not many people who would buy one for any price. They just aren't that attractive compare to other carpets. On the other hand, there are a few weirdos who will buy one at almost any price when one actually does come in. So if you bring in one, you can sell it for $300. If you bring in 20, you can sell 3 for $300 and then you are stuck with the rest of them.

+1 I completely agree. I don't think I'd pay more than $50 for it just because I don't buy things because of a fad. That's just my personal threshold. I can definitely see why someone would pay hundreds of $$$s for it though, I'm just not one of those people.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Reefvette]

By the time they end up on the east coast gentleman they are priced accordingly.

Its sad for me in NJ

 

[Winwood]

I think there are several reasons they don't show up often.
1) Most are not very colorful so divers don't collect them, although I have seen some pics of bright green ones in the wild.
2) It is hard to find small ones in the wild. The shipping cost on a 2-3 foot anemone is huge. For most importers its just not worth it for a brown anemone.
3) They are found a little deeper than other carpets and don't occur in clusters.

As for the price, I must admit that I got mine before the craze. My first one (18") I bought as a mertens for $25 wholesale (about $50 retail). The second one (~8") I got as an "assorted carpet" for $15 wholesale. I bought one the size of a silver dollar a year or so ago for $40 retail.
The pricing is almost a reverse supply and demand. In the general population there are not many people who would buy one for any price. They just aren't that attractive compared to other carpets. On the other hand, there are a few folks who will buy one at almost any price when one actually does come in. So if you bring in one, you can sell it for $300. If you bring in 20, you can sell 3 for $300 and then you are stuck with the rest of them.

+2, This is exactly the reason you don't see many of them. Merten's carpets are not the designer nems that compliment a beautiful, brightly colored SPS garden like a bright blue gig or red haddoni. In fact many people just looking for that next wow piece would probably consider them an eyesore. Also, they take up a lot of real estate and tend to lay flat making them very wide in all directions.

However for the extreme clown enthusiasts they are like the Cadillac of carpet anemones (large and luxurious) for a lot of the rare/seldomly imported clarkii complex, as well as skunk varieties. They afford a large living area for anemonefish and for some reason cause color changes in some species of clowns, many of which trend toward melanism. For these reasons and more are why people who really dig anemonefish are willing to pay quite a bit of money for a grey/tan/olive colored anemone.

 

[vaporize]

$40-50 retail is about right

 

[elegance coral]

If I could find a green one, like the one in Fautin's book (Anemonefishes and Their Host Sea Anemones) I'd pay $500 in a heart beat.

 

[Reefvette]

Vap

Vap

Hubert, your making me sick.


They are indeed the cadillac of anemones.

 

[vaporize]

Hubert, your making me sick.


They are indeed the cadillac of anemones.

You only need to know where to look for them LOL Their colors are typically pretty ugly but the good thing is that they are super hardy in comparison to the other two carpet species.

Frankly I still think getting a bright red haddoni carpet is still the cadillac, able to keep them alive is another plus.