Small Burgundy Gigantea Carpets with Gold Tips?.....

[Taipan]

I came across these two specimens at a LFS this past week. I will endeavour to take some better pictures. These ones were taken with my camera phone. Both were a little stressed with the recent power outage and I'm hoping they will fair better soon. I currently have them reserved for me as soon as I am comfortable with their condition and status.

The best way to describe them are 2 relatively small Gigantea Carpet anemones. I've taken pictures of the undersides for reference. Please correct me if I'm mistaken. The colour I would describe as Burgundy with Gold Tips. Certainly not red, nor brown. They are very sticky.

 

[Wifi]

Looks like a possible Mertensii find. i WOULD GO FOR IT.

 

[D-Nak]

I agree. Looks more like a mertensii, definitely not giganatea. But I would double check to make sure it's not helianthus, just in case, though I would vote for mertensii. Just FYI-- stickiness means nothing in relation to the health of a nem. Gigantea in particular can be sticky (just means the nematocysts are able to fire) right up until the nem begins to fall apart and is removed from the tank.

In the last photo the nem looks stressed, so I would proceed with caution. However, IME mertensii tend to ship better than gigantea and even haddoni, so the risk is a lot less.

 

[xtlosx]

I agree. Looks more like a mertensii, definitely not giganatea. But I would double check to make sure it's not helianthus, just in case, though I would vote for mertensii. Just FYI-- stickiness means nothing in relation to the health of a nem. Gigantea in particular can be sticky (just means the nematocysts are able to fire) right up until the nem begins to fall apart and is removed from the tank.

In the last photo the nem looks stressed, so I would proceed with caution. However, IME mertensii tend to ship better than gigantea and even haddoni, so the risk is a lot less.

+1.. They do not look like S. Gigantea to me either, the verracue running all the way down and around the foot is the dead give away.. Good luck and whatever D-Nak said I echo.

 

[Taipan]

Burgundy Gold Tipped MERTENSII it IS......

Burgundy Gold Tipped MERTENSII it IS......

Thanks for the ID support. It's much appreciated.

Upon initial inspection I thought the tentacles were less likely a Gigantea BUT it was the verrucae that threw me off as Gigantea.

However; based on comments here and upon further research - the spotted verrucae only runs down approx. 1/2 way on a Gigantea but will run FULLY down on a Mertensii.

Interesting find indeed - at that size and colouration (in my opinion). The LFS and I have a great relationship. They will hold it indefinitely for me. There was a rather significant ice storm that hit my area recently and I will take them in when I'm up and running at 100%.

I will post pics down the road hopefully. Thanks again for the comments and assistance.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Too blue!

Too blue!

Please post a pic using flash.

 

[Winwood]

Those are mertensii and this explains the coloration. A much harder species to come by than gigantea.

I'm with Gary please take a few flash photos!

 

[Greg 45]

Not hard to come buy
And yes it's a mertensii

 

[fishroomlady]

May I ask how much these sell for? specifically the OP how much his LFS is selling it for?

 

[Winwood]

Not hard to come buy
And yes it's a mertensii

Sounds like I need to move to NJ.

 

[Taipan]

Additional photos with Flash setting.....

Additional photos with Flash setting.....

Please post a pic using flash.

I went into the LFS today and managed some better pictures. It was a little chaotic as it was 'Boxing Day' here. Here are some pics taken with a flash setting on my phone. I will endeavour to get a better camera in the near future.

Not hard to come buy
And yes it's a mertensii

For me it's not necessarily about rarity (although it sometimes is the case). It's about the oddity or what stands out for me. For the time being...these two are cool in my eyes.

 

[D-Nak]

100% mertensii. Nice find.

 

[taylor t]

Sounds like I need to move to NJ.

I agree! I looked for a couple years to find mine... haven't seen one around here yet - ordered mine online years ago! I've seen dozens of gigs though, most die. I have yet to see one in a LFS.

 

[Taipan]

Let's see how these two fare. I've had my fair share of ups and downs with anemones; although my main experiences are with Haddoni in terms of carpets. It's to my understanding that Mertensii aren't exactly the hardiest of the bunch.

Thanks for everyone's input. I've seen a few Mertensii at various LFS the odd time (now that I know what I'm looking at); but none that were of these relatively small sizes or colouration. While they may be common elsewhere; these stood out for me.

 

[robert s b.]

Yes, that's a Mertensii. I just picked mine up a few days ago.

 

[Psionicdragon]

100% mertensii. Nice find.

agreed since i have one similar, but bleached.

 

[phender]

Let's see how these two fare. I've had my fair share of ups and downs with anemones; although my main experiences are with Haddoni in terms of carpets. It's to my understanding that Mertensii aren't exactly the hardiest of the bunch.
........

Actually, in my experience(and many others), they are the most hardy of the carpets. Those two look very good, especially the larger one.

Mertens tend to be much more flaccid than gigs or haddoni. Those two have nice tight mouths and good tentacle size (considering they are at an LFS). If you buy one, be prepared for it to get much larger (50%-100%) as it gets used to your tank and fills its tissues with water.