Amphiprion Milii

CoralsAddiction

CoralsAddiction

Active member
The only time I had heard of A Milii before was from Lil Wayne a decade ago.
Yesterday, while browsing the net, I came across a pair of fish that looked like black Clarkii from Australia. They were described as A. Milii clowns by the seller (PIA). I really like the colors and more importantly they were Australian import. So I ordered the clowns and they were shipped the same day for today's delivery (talk about great customer service!)
I know some people will have opinions regarding the correct ID, taxonomy, etc. and those are welcome. But please realize I invested in the animal and not the scientific or common name. It's one of those instances where I will defer to the knowledge and reputation of the seller rather than speculation.
Picture from seller's site (photo credit Pacific Island Aquatics)
kvCHoz9.jpg


In my reef tank (female)
NS8aqtz.jpg

Somewhat shy male
r8w8df4.jpg
 
Nice catch!
If they are from Western Australia then they are certainly A. milii. There are quite possibly up to 16 district species lumped together under "A. clarkii" and for conservation reasons it is very important that genetic analysis clarifies this.
BTW, do they have more or was that the only pair?

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
My initial observations so far are as follows:
A.
They have shown clear interest in H. Magnifica anemone but are not too eager to accept it as a host. My suspicion is the flow might be a little strong for them. If I were to guess, they were most likely hosted by S. Haddoni in the wild based on their melanistic traits; S. Gigantea or S. Mertensi to lesser degree of probability due to their preference of higher flow. The ones that are found in BTAs in the wild have more brownish color.
B.
They are not as bold as Clarkii or even Percula clowns. This particular pair is still a little shy when I come closer to the tank to feed them. However, they eat both frozen and dry foods (LRS and TDO). With that said, the smaller male is already chasing away a Fridmani dottyback and a Blue Devil Damsel when they come close to "his" cave but he does not harm them.
 
When using a google images search for A. Milii one result shows them in what appears to be S. Mertensi. It's not 100% clear but I'm positive it's Mertensi.
 
This kind of fits a suspicion I have: the individual species that have been lumped together under "A. clarkii" are not as accepting of all host anemones as it may appear when seeing them all together as A. clarkii.
Once examined individually it is more than likely that a somewhat different picture emerges and certain "local varieties" turn out to have more restricted host preferences depending on the local competition.

Based on videos from the wild, A. milii should definitely accept S. haddoni.

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They both have a little bit of blue hues on the first white band behind the head. It's more pronounced on the male.
The sellers picture show a little bit of it
 
The Petco in Hayward had 2 haddoni last week. California Reef also had a few the last time I was there.
 
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