Is there a leader in a school??

T

tamccain

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Feb 7, 2005
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I was just wondering if anyone has studied schooling fish enough to know whether there is a leader within a school of fish. I just recently bought 9 neon tetras and they are schooling pretty nicely. I was just curious as to the actual schooling behavior.
 
hmm well i have had my 4 neons for about 2 years and they dont seem to have a pecking order, they just school well with my glowlights and my cardnials no pecking order is there as ive noticed.
 
Most of the times, schools eliminate the bully by means of the rest of the school putting the bully in their place....IMO it is better to have an even # of schooling fish so they can pair off (but that is only for fish that will actually pair off, not sure about NT's). A school of 9 is a good size for NT's. It seems like I am spelling "School" wrong...
 
I have a school of head and tail light tetras and there is most definitely an "Alpha" in this group. He is the only one you can see as he spends his free time in open water. I say free time because the majority of his time is spent chasing his fellow H/T-lights around or back into their normal hiding places. One hides behind the right filter intake. Another on the left hand side behind an resin rock and some Ozelot sword. The other two take shelter behind the wisteria deep and near the back wall of the tank. I absolutely hate these fish.
 
Harlock, you hate head-and-tail light tetras? Are they the same thing as glo-light tetras?
 
It depends on what you have in mind with your use of the "leader"; by this, do you mean a socially dominant individual, or a schooling director?
 
Veneer - It could be either I guess. To me a socially dominant would be the one that would "lead" the rest of the group. My question was really is there one fish that typically leads the school to where they were going? or are they just retarded fish that just stay together :) j/k

Also, with my neons I really wanted 8, but the guy was having a hard time catching them so I did and I accidentally caught too many. OH WELL.
 
tamccain said:
My question was really is there one fish that typically leads the school to where they were going? or are they just retarded fish that just stay together :) j/k
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I feel that fish shoals would operate in a manner comparable to flocks of birds - that is to say, there would be no specific "leader" or active [non-cue-based] communication between the group's compository individuals; each fish likely follows a simple set of behavioral rules (e.g. 'stay as close to adjacent shoal members as possible'; 'do not come into direct contact with other fish or landscape elements'; 'attempt to stay at the center of the school') which together result in seemingly coordinated movement.
 
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