Pearls Ready To Breed

[Barbie Bubbles]

I thought I had a trio of 2 F/M and 1 M Pearls. Turns out I have two males and 1 F/M. For the last couple of weeks two of then have paired off. The males colour has dramatically intensifed especially his underside which is now a dark orange (he's gourgeous) the F/m belly seems swollen with eggs. The other male keeps to one side of the tank (his colour pales compared to the mated one) So what can I expect to happen next? Shouldn't he be building a bubble nest by now? I don't have another tank to seperate them into and I don't want any babies anyway, are they O.K. to be left in the community tank?

 

[sylvia]

They are fine. Yes, he might build a nest, but the fry/eggs won't last in a community setting and it may be better to destroy any nests they build to prevent the responsible male from becoming aggressive. Alternatively, increase the strength of the filter current a tad to discourage bubblenest building. BTW, they are not necessarily going to spawn. Pearls will normaly color up when in good condition and they stay like this permanently. The 'pairing up' also isn't necessarily to do with spawning - pearls are quite social (especialy females) and, in the absence of more females, your girl may simply be trying to find a 'friend'.