No father!!!!

[Josh]

So I wanted to show the world this. My convict cichlid had babies. They are free swimming. Here’s the kicker! There is no father! There is no male in this tank just a single female convict. I tried to attach a video but I couldn’t. I know evolution is beautiful. But this is mind blowing.

Edited December 23, 2021 by Josh

[Beau Burkhalter]

I’m sure there is some explanation for it. Speciation and natural selection doesn’t work like that. 

[Josh]

She has been in this tank by herself for roughly a year. There has never been another fish in this tank, EVER. I have never even added a snail to this tank.  Think back to Jurassic park when the philosopher made comments to the scientists who made claims that there could be no breeding between the dinosaurs, due to the fact of them being all female. If there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us it's that life will not be contained. Life breaks free, it expands to new territories and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously, but, uh… well, there it is Life finds a way.

I’ve read that female convicts have been known to inseminate other female eggs. But none of the articles I’ve read have mentioned anything about them doing it to their own.

Edited December 23, 2021 by Josh

[KobaBetta]

Has parthenogenesis been documented in fish? I'm curious to see if they are all female also when they grow up.

[lefty o]

you trying to tell us you had a little xmas miracle there?

[CalmedByFish]

That is BEYOND cool. I love it when fish do something that makes my jaw drop. (Other than eating each other, ya know.) 

That question of whether the babies all turn out to be female is interesting. When you can tell, please let us know. 

Has this mom ever been with males?

[KobaBetta]

For those interested in learning about parthenogenesis it is possible for it to occur spontaneously from females kept in isolation. The telltale signs will be that all offspring will essentially be identical copies of the mother and will all be female. I've linked some information below for those interested.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5238396/

The biggest thing that makes me doubtful it is parthenogenesis is the fact that there are so many fry. Do you have any fish in the tank it could potentially hybridized with?

[Josh]

There has never been any other tank mates in the last year. I had her with a few lavender gouramis at one point but she killed all three of them. 

I counted the fry before I left and I have around 10-15 of them. And it would be amazing if they are clones of her. She is the most beautiful convict I’ve ever seen. These picture do her no justice. The light had just come on so the color wasnt very abundant.

Edited December 24, 2021 by Josh

[Guppysnail]

I have never kept cichlids. Do they have the ability to retain milt the way guppies can? Some of my girls were pregnant young and held for 6 months before developing and dropping and dropped 2-3 litters after they were separated from boys because I never housed them with males from the day I bought them.  They can be impregnated by many males as it increases drop size but can also choose when to use the milt and which milt. Most often using the most recent first and sometimes mixing milt from several males from everything I have read.  If they can retain she may have been fertilized prior to you receiving.  Either way immaculate conception or retention this is quite awesome. She is a beautiful girl.