The male and female fish need to be kept separate tanks to start with, the male needs to be in the tank where the fry (baby's) will be born. Cut a styrofoam cup in half and place it in the corner of the males tank. Also, bottom males tank should not have any rocks or pebbles, but should just be the bare glass. Let the two fish see each other for a few hours a day, then place some type of divider between them so they no longer can see each other. You need to do this for about 2 - 3 weeks. The male will start creating a bubble nest under the styrofoam cup. Feed both fish either live food or I use either frozen bloodworms or frozen brine shrimp. Towards the end of the 2-3 weeks, the females belly will be swollen and will have pale vertical stripes. At this point, place the female in the males tank. The male will chase and attack the female. This could go on for several hours. *Eventually the male will wrap his body around the female and squeeze out eggs. He will then swim down and take the eggs in his mouth and then put them in the bubble nest.* He will continue the process between the *'s until the female has no more eggs. Remove her IMMEDIATELY at this point, or he will kill her. The male stays in the tank until the fish hatch, about 2 or 3 days. As the eggs fall out of the nest, he will pick them up and put them back in. Once the eggs hatch, remove male and put in seperate tank (not with female). After mating process, female will most likely be very beat up with torn fins, and may not move around much. Continue feeding live for frozen foods, as they are easier to eat then flake food, and much more beneficial.
