As mentioned above, the male Pearl Gourami will develop an orange color as the breeding period commences and start building a bubble nest. They female will retain her normal color, but her body shape will change as she becomes filled with eggs. When you notice these changes, the best course of action is to turn of the filter completely to avoid disturbing the delicate bubble nest.
When the male is finished with his nest building, he will try to attract the female to the nest. He will position her under the nest and embrace her, thus squeezing out the eggs from her body. The eggs will be promptly fertilized and sink to the bottom. The male will swim down, locate the eggs and place them inside the bubble nest. He will then embrace the female again and the whole thing will repeat from the start. The female can release eggs up to seven times before the couple is ready, depending on her size and age. Old, big females produce the greatest amount of eggs. If this is the first time for your female, she will probably only release eggs three times or even less.
When the female Pearl Gourami has no more eggs to release, the male will chase her away to prevent her from eating the eggs inside the bubble nest. At this point, it is recommended to remove her from the aquarium. Since you cannot be around to watch your fish around the clock, there must be a lot of hiding spots for the female to stay in until you notice the eggs and remove her from the aquarium.
During the following days, there is no need to feed the male because he won’t eat, he will be busy creating new bubbles for the nest and picking up any young ones that falls out. Within a few days, the Pearl Gourami eggs will hatch and soon after the fry will be free swimming. When they start escaping from the nest as soon as the male puts them back, it is time to remove the male from the aquarium.