This is taken from another forum, but sums up what I've been trying to get across...
"I'm keeping them for 2 years now, with breeding
They eat anything. pelletized food, but also fish - I've lost some sworttails to them.
The tank: In Uruguay all Australoheros spend their time amongst plants, so provide them plants, please. I nevrer saw them destroy them. further the normal things - shelter and so on
They are very slow growing, but reach large sizes. They are, however, quite hard to combine with other fish. Corydoras paleatus are OK, Ancistrus, Hoypostomus idem, but I dare not try other fishes.
They breed easily, after a cool winter. I normally have them in winder (September/October to May) indoors in an unheated tank, in a room with the window constantly open. The temp will, I estimate, drop for 3 months below 16 degrees. In summer they are outdoors where they breed.
Last sumeer I placed 4 in a 1 square meter tank, the same they spend the previous summer in. However, 2 started flowing, and in the end of summer, I found only 2 - however 1 was of another species, and all the fry are, I think, hybrids. I'm glad I still have some youngh ones (born in 2007, but were in spring too small to sell)"