This fish blog will answer the major question, “What is an alpha fish?” we will also discuss the behavior of alpha fish in the group, the responsibilities of alpha fish in the group of fishes, and what happens if an alpha male dies in various groups of fishes in the water.
What is an alpha fish?
The largest male fish in the group is the alpha fish which is also called the alpha male. It has to protect the integrity of the group so that no one can attack the group. It also mates with the number of females in the group to produce fertile offspring and these offspring will add to the group of fish underwater.
What is the behavior of the alpha fish in the group?
The behavior of alpha fish is aggressive in the group. It will show aggression towards the male of other groups and sometimes the same group. It shows itself as the leader of the group and no one can beat it in a fight.
The behavior of alpha fish will tell other fishes what to expect from the alpha fish. Suppose the alpha fish is in the heat it will show aggression toward the female members of the group which is on heat.
This will tell other males in the group to keep their distance from the breeding females because the alpha male would like to mate with the female of the group.
If any of the males of the group tries to mate with the largest female in the group then the alpha male of the group will attack that male of the group and will try to kill it.
After mating with the female, the alpha male will try to protect the babies of female until they are born into the family. After the birth of the young ones, the first four weeks of the fish’s life are critical so the alpha male will protect and give food to the young born of the group.
What are the responsibilities of the alpha fish in the group?
Following are the responsibilities of the alpha fish in the group:
Provide protection to the group
The first responsibility of the alpha fish is to provide protection to the group whether they are young, males or females of the group. The alpha fish will protect the group with its life and will kill each predator that tries to harm the integrity of the group.
Maintain the members of the group
If something happens to the group. Suppose a disaster struck the group and the members of the group died leaving a few members of the group. This makes the group vulnerable to attack by the other members of the group.
In this case, the alpha fish will mate with as many females as it can to produce as many offspring as it can to maintain the members of the group.
Protect the ground
The next responsibility of the alpha male fish is to protect the ground. The ground means the territory in which the group is living. This behavior is common among mammals also. The alpha male will protect the ground at any cost.
This territory is marked by different markers so the alpha male can detect the entry of any foreign agent in the territory.
Being the leader of the group
The last responsibility of the alpha male is to be the leader of the group. The alpha male leads the group and It will tackle every challenge by itself. You might have seen alpha males at the front of every group so they can tackle the predators and other challenges from the front.
What happens to the group if the alpha male fish dies?
If the alpha male fish dies in the group then the group is vulnerable to any predators. In this case, the largest female of the group converts into a male and will start to protect the females of the group. This now becomes the alpha male if there are no males left in the group. This is called epigenetics.
The female which converts itself into a male will start to produce fertile offspring. This happens due to the stress that is induced on the group in the form of the death of the alpha male.
This stress changes the dynamic of the group. The hormones in the largest female send signals to the brain which converts the female gonads into male gonads. The estrogen-producing glands are now producing testosterone as the males do.
Conclusion
In this fish blog, we answered the major question, “What is an alpha fish?” we also discussed the behavior of alpha fish in the group, the responsibilities of alpha fish in the group of fishes, and what happens if an alpha male dies in various groups of fishes in the water.
