WHY can some fish be treated as hermaphrodites?For instance, gubans and parrotfish can change from females to males.
From the eggs of these fish, mostly females hatch. They mature, lay eggs one or more times, and then turn into males. Ladies generally do not like to grow old, so in the case of these fish species, nature meets them halfway.
Young fish are mostly females; experienced fish are males. In clownfish families, there is a strict hierarchy. The female becomes the largest individual, followed by the male and juveniles. One coral polyp can live only one dominant pair.
The female bites the male by the fins, reminding him who the master of the house, and the parents together mushtet young.
If the female dies, the male gets a "higher social status" and becomes the female. The role of the male begins to be played by the largest of the remaining "in the house" juveniles.
Thus, in one lifetime, many reef fish manage to try themselves in two hypostasis at once.
