getting the size, and colors back, of the wild fish...

[GaryE]

This is one situation where the trade name is THE name. They're sailfin mollies, if there is a chance they are crosses with velifera, petenensis and velifera, then they have no species.

I almost got latipinna a couple of times, and if you are patient and resourceful in the USA, you'll get some.

P. velifera and petenensis are a little harder to find, as Mexican fish.

If I had a hard water fishroom, I could amuse myself with a molly only set up. There's such diversity in the group. I only got to see it though because I had a good friend who lived half the year in Mexico and brought back fish before Mexican laws changed.

Mollies get no respect, and like a lot of livebearers, are a mess in the hobby.

 

[Magnum Man]

I like the looks of the top fish in this picture, though expect it's probably full grown, and is not 5-6 inch's

the spotting is probably where the dalmatians come from...

these guys, have only been in this tank, less than 24 hours... I found a place that lists females ... so that may be next, after I'm sure these guys like their tank... can't wait to see if / how they color up with the introduction of some ladies...

red pleco saying hi...

 

[Magnum Man]

BTW those are some of my plastic plants... I already owned, and I figured these tanks may see a lot of netting, so it would be easier to just grab them out beforehand... I still have an olive tree growing out of the 65 gallon ( probably going to transfer it to dirt, and a pot, as it's not doing as well as I had hoped ) and I have 3 hoya vine starts , between these 2 tanks, 2 in the 45 gallon, and 1 in the 65 gallon, otherwise any "scaping" will be easily removable...

 

[Innesfan]

the spotting is probably where the dalmatians come from...

From what I've read, dalmatian mollies were the product of hybrid crosses with M. sphenops. Back in the day, black spotting in various mollies species was the starting point for developing black mollies.

 

[emeraldking]

From what I've read, dalmatian mollies were the product of hybrid crosses with M. sphenops. Back in the day, black spotting in various mollies species was the starting point for developing black mollies.

Yes, there are even black specimens in the wild (this goes for multiple molly species). But they didn't start off as being black. Those that are black in the wild started off being spotted specimens and along the way those black spots started growing. And as a fullgrown, they are almost covered with those black spots which makes them look like black specimens.
And yes, black mollies were derived from such spotted (melanistic) specimens.