Tales of Tails: How to Find the Perfect Mermaid Tail For You!

For those just starting out on their Mer-Journey or for those shopping for someone else, let’s first talk about the types of tails there are, and who and what these tails are for! There are a few different tiers of tail, each suited for a different level of Mastery--so pay close attention to your swimming skills! If you get a tail and it’s too difficult to swim in, you may have to downgrade. If you get a tail to swim in and feel as though you’ve outgrown it, it may be time to upgrade!

All Mer-Journeys are valid, but safety must always come first! Make sure you are buying your tail from a well-known and reviewed tail shop, and not just buying the first thing you sea on Amazon.

Freediving monofins are pretty common starter kits for Merfolk just beginning on their journey. They’re easier to find in sports shops than mermaid-specific monofins, and provide more rigidity, which means they are much faster to swim in than the more arguable-graceful silicone or vinyl monofins. Mermaid Linden actually has a line of mermaid-specific, rigid monofins designed to mimic some of the fastest fish in the sea. They come in both kids and adult sizes, and are reportedly very comfortable to wear!

The Types of Tail

For Beginner Merfolk

These monofins start at $49.99 for kids and $74.99 for adults. They’re fairly cheap for a quality monofin, but are very durable and can take quite a few summers of play before they need to be retired!

Seriea Guardiã’s monofin is also a great option for a sturdy, mermaid-made monofin. They are on the more expensive side, at $129 plus shipping, but they are definitely worth it. They have comfortable, solid pockets for your feet and a stiff blade to make you very fast in the water. If that’s not enough to convince you, you can use the code MERMAPP5 to get 5% off of your order!

Seriea Guardiã also has swimsuits, tail bags, and fabric tails: which we talk about more in the next section.

Tier Two: Fabric Tails

Fabric Tails are the most common tail on the market today. Many Tail-ors sell mainly, or even only, fabric tails. One of the most prolific sellers of beginner-friendly fabric mermaid tails is FinFun. FinFun has three levels of tail, starting at their Mermaiden tails for the beginner, and going up to their Elite tails, which are made with higher quality fabric and have a larger fluke size; for professional or more experienced mers that want a little pizazz. Their Mermaiden tails are one of the most common beginner tails--probably because they start literally small, with sizes down to a Youth 6. Mermaidens are fun, beginner friendly, and most importantly: as safe as they can be!

For Beginner to Intermediate Merfolk

FinFun’s Youth and Adult Mermaidens are $69.95 with monofin, and $34.95 without! So if you already have a Mermaiden fin and you don't need to buy another one with every tail. In the MerMapp app's Bazaar, you can find a link to FinFun’s shop. A percentage of the income generated from our affiliate links are donated to a charity of the community’s choice!

Seriea Guardiã is another great option for fabric tails. Based out of Brazil, Seriea Guardiã ships worldwide and offers several uniquely beautiful tail designs, as well as the monofins and vinyl inserts you need to really give them that wow factor!

Seriea Guardiã’s tails run on the more expensive side for fabric tails, and for good reason. Besides being comfortable to wear and incredibly sturdy, they’re highly customizable for fabric tails. She has the options to add side fins, dorsal fins, all the fins, or none. They go for about $227 to $379, depending on how many fins you add. When you purchase your tail, remember to use the code MERMAPP5 to get 5% off, and to grab the monofin that goes with it, which we talked about in Tier One!

Tier Three: Semi-Silicone

For Intermediate to Advanced Merfolk

Another tail-or to look out for is the Mertailor himself! Going 20 years strong, The Mertailor started out as just an online tail shop, but now has a physical aquarium and mermaid encounter location in Lecanto, Florida! Mertailor specializes in semi-silicone and silicone tails, which are for intermediate to professional mermaids. A particularly strong or experienced swimmer can start with a Mertailor semi-silicone tail, no problem, but their monofins are entirely silicone, which, while providing a very beautiful and natural mermaid look, are also too heavy for small children or very-beginners.

Mertailor has mastered the art of the semi-silicone tail; they have five different fluke types, the most recent being their patented Fantasea Fin Five, which runs a mer $435.00 for just the monofin. Their monofins range in size and shape, and each monofin comes with a large variety of fabric skins that are “plain” (because none of Mertailor’s fins are plain, at all), or can have up to eight or nine decorative fins! If you want something special, you can get a custom fabric tail from Mertailor, as well.

The most basic tail you can get from Mertailor is the Fantasea Fin One with one of their Full Fantasea Tails. A Fantasy Fin One goes from $199.00 to $209.00 depending on the shoe size selected. The tail skins for the Fantasy Fin One start at $99.95, but can be more expensive if they’re part of a limited collection.

Mertailor also has Whimsy tails, like one pictured above. Whimsy’s are, as the name says, pretty whimsical! They come with extra fins and there are options for all of the monofins, including the Fantasea Fin One, so if you want to upgrade but you’re not quite ready for a silicone tail, a Whimsy may be the way to go!

As stated before, The Mertailor’s monofins can be a bit on the pricier side, and are thus more of a financial investment. Their Whimsy tails especially can go for over a thousand dollars including the monofin, but you are exchanging that price for a sturdy fin, a beautiful tail, and unparalleled quality! (You also get a meme in every box, so be prepared for a laugh!)

Tier Four: Full Silicone

For Advanced to Professional Merfolk

If you want to leap fin-first into a realistic mermaid experience, a silicone tail is the way to go. Silicone tails are for everyone, but are recommended for advanced mermaids and professionals only. Silicone tails can be up to 50 pounds, or 22.6 kilograms, and are much harder to escape from in an emergency; you actually need lotion or another lubricant to get into them, so imagine how hard it is to get out!

But, if you are ready to live out your ultimate mermaid dreams, no one does silicone tails better then Merbella Studios. Merbella Studios is a business started by “husband and wife team Mermaid Raven and 20Penny Tyler,” who have used their special effects experience to make truly enchanting tails! If you’ve ever wanted your mermaid tail to truly like a part of you, glimmering in the light like actual fish scales, Merbella is the way to go.

The main drawback, of course, is the price. As you may have noticed, as you move up the tiers and down this list, the tails get more expensive. This holds true for Merbella, as well; each piece is made to your specifics, and all of the tail is highly customizable. Their full silicone tails start at $4200, and can increase in price based on your wants and needs.

Another thing is that they are not always taking orders. As you can imagine, Merbella is incredibly busy creating the awe-inspiring tails we love, but because each tail is a fully original masterpiece they can’t exactly mass-produce them. They have a guide for ordering your tail on their website, and they encourage you to email them again at a later date if they can’t take your order at that time. Just have the funds ahead of time!

There are many other silicone tail makers that are slightly more affordable than Merbella; Finfolk Productions to name one of them, although they are not currently accepting orders. The Mertailor also makes silicone tails, starting at $2,500.

And silicone mermaid tails aren’t solely made by those in the USA! Mermaid Kat is a mermaid tail maker based out of Germany that started up in 2013. She ships worldwide, and has a few different silicone tail (or as she would say, Silikonflosse) options to offer!

Kat’s tails range from $1,729 (pictured left) to $2337, and are highly customizable. You can change the hip shape, the amount of fins, the fluke… everything! They come in a vast array of colors as well; so if you can dream it, you can really get it at Mermaid Kat Shop.

Mermaid Kat Shop also offers silicone tops and vests to add to your mermaid look, as well as normal swimsuits and other accessories. With the link from this article, you get a 5% discount in her shop! You can also find this link in the Shop card of your MerMapp app.

At the end of the day, tails are a highly personalizable part of each mermaid persona; you can be as natural or as fantastical as you want. Mermaiding is ultimately a creative hobby and profession, filled with lots of love and a passion for being the best merperson you can. and All the love you put into choosing your tail will show, no matter what you pick. From the monofin to the full silicone, every mer is welcome to join our ocean community as they are!

If you’re new to mermaiding and don’t yet have a slice of the community to call your own, never fear! You can join the MerMapp and find a pod to swim with, or create a new pod for other merfolk in your area. The most wonderful part of being a part of a community, is that none of us have to swim on our own!

Happy Swimming!

Tier One: Just a Monofin!