In this video I’m taking a look at peanut beetles as a cheap, easy live food option—specifically the larvae, which are basically like tiny mealworms. I picked up a starter culture at a local fish club swap, and the whole reason I’m messing with this is simple: when I’m filming tank updates, I like to lure fish out for photos, and live food does that better than anything. I used brine shrimp all summer, but once it gets cold I don’t want to mess with heaters in the garage, so I’m looking for a winter-friendly alternative that still gives my fish that “nutritional pop.” I go over the big caveat: I don’t feed the adult beetles because they can release a toxin that’s risky for smaller animals (at least that’s what’s said), but the larvae are the stage I’m after. I show how I’m keeping them—oatmeal and unsalted peanuts in a container, with carrots added mainly for moisture/humidity—and I talk about the main challenge: harvesting and sorting. It’s a bit of a pain (tweezers help, and I really should be using a sieve or funnel), but once you get in there you’ll find tons of worms at different stages. Then we wrap up with a few shots of my fish going to town on them.