i typed this out for another post but maybe you won't see it so here it is. it's rushed but you should get the idea.
we were sucessful our first time at it but we also did a lot of reasearch beforehand. setting up your breeding tank properly is the most important thing, bare bottom (no gravel), sponge filter (not necessary but you can use one), no more than 4 to 5 inches of water kept at a higher temperature than normal (* this doesn't necessarily mean using a heater, low water level combined with loose covered top does the trick as well), plenty of hiding places (ie. plants etc., java moss is good), some sort of egg shelter (we use half a styrofoam cup floating on the surface), covered walls for privacy, covered top of tank, put the male in first for a few days, then introduce the female in a jar into the tank (so the male can swim around her but not get at her). make sure they are conditioned with live food (preferably but frozen works too), don't let the female loose until she is nice and fat and shows vertical striping, her ovipositer should be prominant as well. be prepared to wait a few days for them to mate too, it has taken as long as 5 days for us in the past. if you have shelter for the female she won't get beat up too bad. know that the male will try to beat her up and bully her if she is unwilling at first, it's part of the mating ritual. if all goes well, they will mate and you can then take the female out. she should be given a quiet place to rehabilitate with clean water and maybe bettamax or indian almond leaf if you have it. the male will stay in the breeding tank until the eggs hatch and the fry are free swimming. you should pay attention to him though as some males become egg or even fry eaters if they feel threatened. as with the female the male should get the same treatment after taking him out. so now the fry are free swimming and you are wondering what comes next. remember to keep the top of the tank covered as it keeps the surface temperature somewhat humid (which is good for the fries labyrinth development). don't be afraid to let the tank breath though, you don't want algae either. you should have already sourced out what food you will feed them. for the first two days of their life they will feed off their egg sacs but after that they will be hungry. usually, we will use some "wardley's liquid fry" food on or just after second day. we will use it for a day or two but then switch to live vinegar eels (micro worm culture works well too). they are great for new borns as they are small enough for the fry to eat readily. we do the vinegar eels for about 5 to 7 days and by then have our BBS farms up and running. live baby brine shrimp is great for fry but you can't just depend on that, if you feed them soley on that diet you run the risk of fry developing swim bladder disease. instead, we switch it up with live grindel worms. alternately, you can use daphnia etc. it's very important to do small water changes every day as well, we use a turkey baster to clean up debris and switch old water for new. no drastic changes in water temperature though, don't stress them too much because they are fragile.
ok, after about a month you can think about moving them to a grow out tank (bigger the better, 50 gallon works well but 20 gallon is not bad either depending on size of spawn of course). they love floating plants, snails are useful (get small ones not large ones) to keep the tank bottom clean, keeping the water clean is very important so doing frequent water changes is important.
i feel i have been rushing through this "crash course" and i'm sure there is much more others here can contribute as well, i'm sure i've neglected to mention some things. so, best of luck.
and a sponge filter but i really dont need that till after conditioning and fry. 
