Mertensii confirmation

[D-Nak]

99% sure it's a gigantea. But as others mentioned, we'll need to see the column for possible confirmation.

This is based on a few assumptions (generalizations):

1. Gigantea mouths are frequently yellow, and the mouth appears yellow on this anemone. Many mertensii have the same color mouth as the rest of the oral disk.

2. In terms of verrucae color, of all of gigantea and mertensii I've seen, when described as purple verrucae, gigantea verrucae are typically violet purple while mertensii are reddish purple, more towards maroon. In other words, gigantea verrucae color range from blue to purple, while mertensii range from purple to orange, almost as if one takes over where the other left off.

3. Tentacle length in the photo seems long for an acclimating mertensii. Most I've seen are extremely short, resembling a haddoni. In this case, because the tentacles are so long, I'm guessing it's an acclimating gigantea.

Again, these are all generalizations. I'm sure there are oddballs as with almost everything reef-related, so the only way to know for sure is to see brightly colored verrucae that are maroon to orange.

 

[asudavew]

I love threads like this one. Such good information available from some very knowledgeable people.

Much appreciated.

 

[Winwood]

Does this look like a mert or gigantea to you?

I'm fairly certain that's a gig.

 

[ponokareefer]

I love threads like this one. Such good information available from some very knowledgeable people.

Much appreciated.

Agreed. Thank you everyone for your help.

 

[ReefClownMIA]

Sweet looking nem! Don't think I've ever seen one before.

 

[ReefCurrent2015]

Let's see the foot. Then we can say for sure.

 

[Robdog]

Definitely a gig and a pretty nice one at that

 

[straightjiggy10]

Is it for sale?

 

[sully6956]

I would agree with everyone above. Most likely a gig, need a foot pic to confirm.

The tentacle shape is different from my mert, especially during acclimation where they tighten up and look more like a haddoni, as previously mentioned.

Phender is correct. I've hade mine for a year and the tentacle length is fairly uniform from the mouth to the outside.

 

[ponokareefer]

Here is a shot of the mouth. They were not able to get a shot of the underside.

I really hate the ultra blue lighting they use.

 

[D-Nak]

I still think it's a gig... but with it expelling zoox like that you may want to hold off unless you want to treat it.

 

[ponokareefer]

I still think it's a gig... but with it expelling zoox like that you may want to hold off unless you want to treat it.

How do tell the difference between zoox and waste from eating?

 

[D-Nak]

I rarely see my anemone expel waste, but when they do it's usually stringy. Dead zoox is usually clumped together, either like large grains of sand as in your photo, to what I call "rat poop" which are larger masses that appear to be compacted and hold together in a current (meaning they're pretty dense for their size.). If you've seen what mouse or rat poop it really does look similar.

 

[ponokareefer]

I rarely see my anemone expel waste, but when they do it's usually stringy. Dead zoox is usually clumped together, either like large grains of sand as in your photo, to what I call "rat poop" which are larger masses that appear to be compacted and hold together in a current (meaning they're pretty dense for their size.). If you've seen what mouse or rat poop it really does look similar.

Thank you for the info. I think I will pass on this one as I was really looking for a Mertensii.