Ok so l am new to having fish l have 2 dalmatian mollies..one l know for sure is a male but the other one is bigger has more white than my other one and she/he looks pregnant..and has a big hole on her anus..is this normal?? l cant tell the sex b/c it sorta looks like both female and male..she doesnt really fan out her anal fin like a seashell..she keeps it straight like a male..also my other fish chases her and smells her private alot..i am so confused on what breed l have..but my main concern is the one l think is female is bigger than the other and has a huge opening hole in the anus..the other fish does not have this..and also both fish take their privates and touch their fins..what in the world are they doing that for?? l need seriosplease..10 points for best answer!!

As l read ur question, l can help but smile. l think u r worrying entirely too much about a question that only the fish need to be sure of & they will figure it all out on their own without our help. However, u may want to know that in many instances in the piscatorial world, the larger fish is quite often the female since she has to develop & lay thousands of eggs to reproduce her specie. The male only has to be ready to fertilize those eggs at the precise moment she decides to lay them. Here again, they will know when the moment & the mood suits them most. It is a natural experience for them & they will not need a midwife to help them through it. Once the eggs (or the babies when live birth is the alternative) appear, u will want to keep other fish & sometimes even the parents away to keep them from cannibalizing the offspring. Adding a cluster of artificial plants to the aquarium can offer security to live young ones by giving them a place to hide from predators such as their own parents. Once born, or once the eggs r laid, u may even have to keep them in a separated area of the aquarium. You can get screened dividers from ur local pet store to section off a nursery in the same tank. Good luck & congrats. (You r not going to try & name them all, r you?) ;o)

Mollies r live-bearers, they do not lay eggs. Mollies usually have between 10-50 babies. l have had them only give birth to 4-5 babies at a time though. Distinguishing between male & female mollies is pretty easy. From ur description it is a female & could be close to having babies. l use to keep my swordtails & mollies in a breeding net when time was close to having babies. After birth take the female out of the breeding net or she may start to eat her young.. Here is a site for the dalmation molly- http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+1101+1058&pcatid=1058 Feel free to email me for more info if needed. 30yr tropical fish exp