I have a little teeny tiny Fantail that has the most pronounced breeding stars I have ever seen!! His pectoral fins have them too and there are so many it looks sharp! COULD a small fish (he's about 2 inches with his tail) be fertile and fertilize eggs, can male fish breed whenever they get stars or would their milt be no good?
I've tried everything to make his stars go away and I moved him from his 10 gallon (after I got a severe tongue lashing from a bunch of people on here about keeping him in a small tank with females making the hormones in the water really high or some hoo ha like that). I moved him to a 20 gallon and he's already found himself a girlfriend and she's about the same size he is so obviously, no breeding. Even with regular water changes, his stars are as big and bright as ever.

That's amazing! My fish are much bigger than that and I have yet to see a single star on anyone! Shmoopie is improving his approach to females but still just practicing his moves. no stars at all!!!

Sexual maturity isn't related to size alone, if he's old enough his body will release the necessary hormones to make him sexually mature. Just like people, some fish have more testosterone/oestrogen, etc, than other fish so this may account for the profusion of markings. I have a black moor with very prominent markings like you describe (easy to see on a black fish) and he is easily sexually stimulated. I only need to put a female in the same tank and he goes beserk.

Of course, there may be other reasons why some males display more breeding stars than other males but I'm sure varying hormone levels account for some of it.

Don't be alarmed if your large fish are not showing any breeding stars, it may just mean they are not yet mature and have more growing to do.

Some fish are just born to be tiny I guess . Genetics. In any batch of fry there will be fish that are smaller and stay so. Some are male. It's probably on the unusual end of the scale to have a teeny with breeding stars already but it sure happens. Take my Spunk. He was 'ready' a few months after I got him home and he was only 4 months old and tiny when I bought him. He found his big 3 year old gal irresistable and they had fry.

And Chickey, hey! they don't have to show the stars. Schmoopies still a romeo I find them quite hard to see on some males esp with white or silvery gills. The front of the dorsal is the place where my males seem to have gotten them more noticeably.

My Tiny Tim who was really tiny when I got him had breeding stars pretty much straight away, with 3 females in the tank who can blame him!! I have 1 other male who only got his breeding stars after 1 year, but they are both abale to fertilise eggs. as it wa said it all depends on genetics I suppose.
Tiny Tims breeding stars are very pronounced, he still has them now, but isnt doing much chasing anymore.

Aw, thanks. At least I know he's not alone now!! I have a nice fancy 6 inch Calico Fantail with long flowy and pretty fins that had stars when I got him over a year ago, he lives with AT LEAST 3 females and not one star has come back.



Him when I got him. So much promise!!

Thanks I think He may be one of those fish who still has some maturing to do. As I said: His moves are getting better. He was chasing nose to tail and now when he chases he is more nose to gill plate on Gibby (who continues to be the object of his affection) They swim like syncronized swimmers: very fluid and smooth. More like the breeding videos i've seen. OOOOhhhh maybe next spring I will have fry! I have to remember Shmoopie is less than a year old.

Halloween: I remember that pretty fish, we haven't seen any new photos though