What are the chances that they will breed?

Question

Hi, I have a small 10 gallon tank with 9 fish in it. One species of fish that i have is an X-ray Tetra or can also be called a Pristella Tetra. I used to have 2 in my previous batch of fish but, my last X-ray had died of old age it was a female because i saw little tiny eggs inside of her. Well, i just bought 2 more and it looks like i got 1 female and one male. They're still juveniles and still haven't gotten their true colors, mine some how look a little different from the pictures that i have seen. Mine only have the red tail and yellow spots on the dorsal and anal fin. ( is that good or bad? ) I noticed that one of them is starting to develop eggs. While the other one is just well nothing really that i can see with the naked eye. I've looked up on several different websites that X-ray fish are very picky towards who they want to spawn with. I was thinking of buying some new fish during the spring and upgrading the tank. I was thinking about buying 2-4 more? So what are the chances they might breed if are fed and happy and healthy? ( if possible, links would be awesome!)

Thank you all so much!

Answer 1

X-ray tetras are a schooling fish and ideally should be kept in groups of six or more.  Your chances of breeding rise if you keep more tetras (at least six).  Happy, healthy, well fed fish are more likely to breed than unhappy unhealthy fish, so keep up on your water changes and feed them nutritious food.  

I suppose there is a chance that your fish will breed once they reach maturity, but if you were to add three more (if your tank can take three more fish), you're likely to be more successful.  As for the color of your juveniles, I wouldn't worry about it unless you see signs of disease.  There is bound to be a little color variation within a species, and especially so with immature individuals.