can someone clarify the fin dots for me

[-Asianguy-]

ok. so i was watching the national geographic show on the cichlids. and this one part says that the Male has dots on its anal fin.

The reason for this is. As soon as the female lays her eggs, she quickly picks them up. That means the male doesn't always have time to fertilize them while they are on the ground. so he flashes his dots and she tries to pick his dots up thinking they are eggs. She then gets a mouth full of skeet. And some of the fertilization takes place in her mouth.

so now i'm reading some threads that say the dots belong to females.

i'm confused. Or does it vairy by species?

 

[merc123]

Varies.

Case in point, I have an Acei that has 1 anal fin dot and I just stripped 35 fry from her.

 

[straitjacketstar]

It does vary from species to species.
A Metriaclima estherae (red zebra) female can have many spots, maybe even as bright and bold as that of a male's but in the same complex - M. lombardoi (Kenyi) males have only one and females have none. Or at least that's the way it should be. Inbreeding/hybridization can change that.
While one can use it as a guideline sexing tool it's certainly not 100% accurate.

 

[BrtnBoy449]

it varies

 

[bubblereef]

the most aggressive fish in my tank has 3 bright yellow spots on his anal fin, and i am greatly considering taking him out to just give the other fish a break... he's overly agressive.