Mermaids, ahoy!

Get Ready - MerMay is coming! There is a significant amount of ocean in Second Life.  Why not explore it as a mermaid?

All's you need is a mertail and a swimming AO (animation override).

Where do I shop?

Mertails are one of those mysterious things that are essential to have, but not widely advertised.  I've provided a starting point below for tails and other accessories.  

MerTail options:

Tails by Aii

• Riptide  (2kL)
• Siren tail (1kL)

Nemissa by Cynefin 1200L (available at Mermade)

Valenne by Petrichor 1299L

OpenMerTail on MP (free)

Brine's Odessey at Zen Child Design (1kL)

Level 9's Taniwha tail (a shark tail!) (640L)

The Cove Tidal base tail (499L)

Big Mershops:

Mermade

Krature

Auro

Also Visit:

Amadeus

Antaya

Devious Mind (also search Marketplace for 'Erielle' - some fabulous gacha older mertails)

Tir Na Nog (they have a free gift AO)

Yabusaka - They also have mertails for Petite bodies!

How do they work?

Mertails are worn as an object.  Some are rigged to fit any mesh body, some only to a particular style of bodies. Be sure to demo them first! 

You will also need an alpha - a skin layer that make your legs and feet invisible. Most mertails come with one, or are designed to automatically hide your legs when you attach it. Some will also include a bom layer of scales for a smooth transition between body and tail.

Custom Skins
Just like your body, most mesh mertails are customizable, and you can change their skin for different looks.  Some may have add-on fins or other decorations.

Animations and Static Poses:

This gets interesting. The early mermaids were animated by placing both legs tight together. The mertail would be attached to one of the legs, so some static poses may work, some will not. 

Later mertails are rigged to the modern, Bento tail, meaning they will need a Bento pose or animation to make them work.  Not all mer items you find will work together. See the below photo for an example.  Rowan is wearing five tails, rigged to different legs and bento, and one to the spine, I believe? They all respond differently to the same pose.

Where do merpeople hang out?  

Check out The Safe Waters Foundation! (leads to their website).  They have some amazing up to date resources.

Happy swimming!

Links are accurate as of April 2026. 

Photo Credits:

Photo 1 - Freeing The Octopus

Mermaid 1:
Hair: No Match - No Posession
face: .Leronso - Monifa
Makeup: 
Stelio - Shimmer lips and eyeshadow
Rubedo - MerChey 
Collar - Amadeus - Halo of Fins
Bra - Stargazer - Clionadh
Tail: Open Mer Tail
Earrings: 187 Goldfish Earrings

Mermaid 2:
Hair: Sintiklia - Bloom
Headpiece and Bra: Lulu - Ondine
Tail: DM! - Erielle - Emerald Bay

Mermaid 3:
Hair: No Match - No Candle
Tail: Open Mer Tail
Octopus from Love
Windlight: Nacon's Nighty Fog

Photo 2 - Dark and Sparkly Mermaid

Skin: Stargazer -  Neraphira skin 

Hair: No Match - No Desire.

Bra/corset is Infiniti - Leviathan

Harshlands: Vaxtri staff 

Back fin halo is from Amadeus

Constance Crown is from Una

Photo 3 - Hanging Out On The Dock

Tails by DeviousMind - Erielle
Hair by No Match.

Green Mermaid Bra: Belle Epoque - Ocean's Daughter

Yellow Mermaid:
Bra: Stargazer - Clionadh - clam top A
Fins: Amadeus - Halo of Fins