<p>This paper introduces an empirical model that describes a memory-dependent tri-trophic food chain comprising one prey and two predators. Both predators exhibit Holling II functional response dynamics when consuming their respective food sources. In both predator-prey interactions, the prey species employs a refuge-seeking behavior to evade the intermediate predators. Through the utilization of fractional derivatives, we illustrate the system’s capacity to retain memory. We determine a region that remains positively invariant in the context of the fractional order model we’ve introduced. Furthermore, we set forth conditions under which a sole solution exists. We find that the periodicity and chaotic behavior of the model can be easily adjusted by increasing the memory component without changing any other parameters. Furthermore, we investigate the control of limit cycle(s) via the memory effect and the preservation of biodiversity by preventing the extinction of the top predator population. Remarkably, with increased memory, the system demonstrates the emergence of single stability, bi-stability, or tri-stability, resulting in the absence of limit cycles.</p>