April is perfect for me. My tank is dormant right now, as it will hopefully be turned into a planted tank. I've never tried to hatch live brine shrimp, but all the info has been nagging at me to try. I bet the hets would love it, as they don't seem to enjoy the frozen BBS as much as daphnia(or even flake!). What temp do you keep them at? I've heard they like it on the cool side, but in Texas your tanks must warm up qutie a bit in the summer due to heat right? Im in Ca, and the temp will rise to around 75 or more in the summer. We keep the house at about 85 degrees then.
BTw, have you seen the little brine shrimp hatcher for sale at Dr. Foster Smith? Apparently, you hatch eggs in it and the larvae swim out into your tank! It sounds like quite a sales pitch, though it would make providing the monties and hets with live food 24/7 easier.
Also, are these(and the fry) open water fish, or are they the kind that tend to spend time foraging among the plants? I'd also like something that does that without eating fry. I've been considering either croaking, sparkling gouramis, and checkered barbs.
Any suggestion on them?