Leave them together and let the female lay her eggs. You can take the eggs and get rid of them. I separated my main female for several months, during which time she didn't lay of course. When I did put her back into action her first 2 batches all died, only 40 survived from the third batch, and now I have around 150 fry left out of her fourth batch of 200. She's getting back to normal, but I'll never prevent a female from laying again.
