I have a friend that would use them for fishing. He said they work great for pan fish.

My reptile room is 80-82, that temp worked very well. I know if they get too cold, they won't reproduce and they probably shouldn't be over 90. Also, make sure the tubs are not clear. They like the dark. You could probably make the generalized statement that if you hear them chirping, then it's warm enough for them to breed.

Good luck, I found that it wasn't worth it. Though I was doing it on a rather small scale and I didn't have the patience to get the colony going so I'd always have feeders. Reading things online, it made it sound like 4-6 weeks is all you needed to get enough feeders. 4-6 weeks is about how long it takes to get pinheads. Another 4-6 weeks and maybe you'll have mediums.

I'm being patient with the roaches though.