I fell in love with this fish when I saw pictures in a TFH article many years ago. It is rarely imported in Greece, so when I found some in an obscure fish shop, I got a small group of six. They felt right at home in my 60 gallon planted tank. After some months they were fully grown. I had 2 males and 4 females. I observed "fake fights" between males, and courtship, so I managed to net the pair pictured below (not an easy task in a fully planted tank).

Fully grown males have a well developed cephalic hump. It is also said that females have a black border on their anal fin, but my males have this as well.

I put the pair in the 23 gallon tank pictured below, which I use to "park" my plant cuttings.

I gave them a small flower pot, but they chose to spawn on the back of my DIY filter.

Eggs 2 days before hatching.	1 day before hatching.
Compare with the razor to have an idea of the egg's size.	Detail.

I put the fry in a 5 gallon tank with some plants. I fed twice/day with infusoria, and Tetra baby powder food.

Water changes every evening, about 20%. The pictures above, were taken Mars 13, just as the fry became free swimming.

A month later, fry and plants grew up. I transferred the parents back in my display tank, and the fry in the 23 gallon. The baby fish are growing happily.

If you want to know more about this beautiful fish, check this excellent article from Adrian R. Tappin.

Pictures were taken with a Canon PowerShot G1 digital camera.