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We first purchased two pairs of Corydoras Axelrodi at a shop called Tingly Tropicals in Yorkshire in 1990.

We set the pairs up in separate 16x10x12 tanks filtered by surge filters through gravel.

Natural plants in the form of amazon swords and Java moss were added as part of the set up.

After about two months the pairs had still not spawned, I then moved them into a bare 24x14x15 tank. The only reason was because I needed the tank space for small fry.

This larger tank was as I said, bare, apart from two small box filters that were not adequate to run such a large tank.

The tank was 15inch high and only had the two pair of Axelrodi. I was feeding them live feeding such as daphnia and white worm. This type of feeding can produce a lot of waste matter.

The water quality was deterating as the filtration was not up to the job in hand. An extra hang on Trickle filter was added. Again the flow rate wasn't enough so the water level was dropped to approx. 10 inches.

The waterfall effect appeared to induce the fish into a spawning mood.

The females were the first to react, swimming directly into the flow, until it pushed them away.

Before I carried out a water change the temperature was steady at 76f and the pH was a low 5.8 - 6.

I removed 25% of the water and added cold water direct from the tap. I also added a large feed of white worm.

In the morning the temperature was 76f, the pH had risen to 6.5. The general hardness was 12gh.

The activity started again, with same mannerisms as before, but this time they would tee up first, and then enter the flow from the filter.

The female swam against the flow until she appeared to get tired; she then deposited two slightly milky eggs against the glass of the tank where the flow was hitting directly from the filter.

No plants were in the tank but I think the Cory's would still have laid their eggs in the same place, as they appeared to prefer the waterfall effect.

After spawning, the eggs where hurriedly being eaten by the spawning pair. I removed about 35 eggs to a small show jar.

I added one drop of Meth blue to hopefully stop the eggs from fungusing. The eggs started to eye up and changed their colour after two days and proceeded to hatch in five days at 78f.

The hatch rate is less than the average for Cory's, but this is such an attractive little fish it's worth the extra effort.

At the most we managed to get around 25 fry to maturity, from any one spawning.

These fish would spawn about every two weeks and appear to be seasonal spawner's rather than light or temperature spawner's.

We found the best time of year for spawning was March to early June,

They originally came into the shop as Hong Kong plecs; “ Gastromyzon “ Species along side other various species of what we generally call Hill stream loaches.

I housed them in an 18”x18”x15” tank, filtered by a small internal power filter and a bio foam sponge filter. The power filter was an attempt to imitate their natural conditions, as these fish are from streams and small rivers.

The temperature was set at 72f; the pH was 7, which is neutral.

They settled into the tank very well and greedily excepted Brine Shrimp, White Worm and Grindle Worm.

The tank décor consisted of an 1.5” layer of gravel with half sliced flower pots and slate laying flat on the gravel.

Sex differences, the female is brown and the male has red spots on the gills and red markings on the fins.

Before breeding any fish it is very important to get them into good condition.

The fish were fed heavily on natural pond foods consisting of Glass worm, Daphnia, and Blood worm. This was topped up with White Worm and Brine Shrimp.

Regular water changes of 50% were carried out on a weekly base.

When the male is ready to breed he will excavate a cave under the slate removing sand and gravel to his requirements. He will then start displaying

to the females. The courtship consisted of the male turning a very dark colour and tilting his head back like howling dog and croaking.

At this stage he flares his gill plates to show the red spotted underside.

He will breed with several females before he blocks the entrance to the cave. This is the sign to remove all the other tank inhabitants.

The male guards the eggs up-to and beyond the time the fry are spotted escaping from the cave. This is the time to remove the male.

Incubation takes approx. 14 days depending on the tank temperature.

The fry were simple to raise and took Brine Shrimp and Micro worm as their first food.

Depending on what female he eventually bred with the brood could be anything from 15 to 30 fry raised to adult hood.

They were shown in the A.O.V Egglayers class at Greenock open show two years ago, and I was delighted to receive a first bred first shown certificate.

Always check out the cold water section at your local fish shop. You may be very surprised what you will find because these fish are well worth the effort.

The common name of this lovely fish is the Orange Knife Livebearer. The above photo does not do it justice.

I had first seen this fish at an open show in Newcastle in 1990, they were entered in as a breeder's team and they were outstanding.

It wasn't until 1997 before I managed to purchase 10 young specimens from Kenny Hunter at a show in Workington.

well-planted 36”x12”x12” tank filtered with two large power filters. Only other tank occupants consisted of Corydoras.

They were fed with a variety of quality feeding consisting of White worm, Tetramin flake and various types of live feeding. This incorporated with the power flow from the two internal filters and regular water changes produced strong sexually mature fish within four months consisting of six males and four females.

I removed four of the males to give a better ratio for breeding, i.e. four females to two males. This also gave the females more rest.

I started to increase the quantity of white worm to bring them into breeding condition.

About a month had past when the females started to show signs of being gravid with young. At this stage I removed the males to a holding tank as they where getting very pushy and this species of livebearer can get very stressed and I have known them to abort the young.

Some livebearers will not eat there young but I did not take the chance with the Huberi.

I set up 18x15x12 tanks full of Java moss and put individual females into each tank.

The female where all fed on different quantities of food, this was to see if it had any affect on there approach to the young.

A couple of days later I was over the moon when I checked that the first female had about 60 young and she was not aggressive towards them at all.

Over a short while I had about 200 young from my four females and all the fry where safe.

This proved to me that they are not aggressive to there young and so I put them all into a larger tank to get on with it.

The young where removed to smaller tanks to give them the best feeding without the attention of the parents.

The new born fry where fed on newly hatched brine shrimp, micro worm and crushed baby food.

They where about an inch long when I moved them on to a five foot tank with plenty of filtration.

Within a year nearly all the Aquarists in the area had them or bred them.

But now in 2002-2003 they are off the scene but I am confident that this beautiful fish will make a comeback.