Commercial fish food is typically composed of digestible vitamin and mineral compounds. At certain temperatures and moisture levels, these compounds are susceptible to degradation and decomposition. Therefore, care must be taken to retain the nutritional integrity of your fish's food.
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Moisture
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Vitamins and minerals that are essential to fish health, such as vitamins A,C, D,E, K, are mostly fat soluble. However, flake fish food is typically engineered to dissolve in water over time. Avoid overfeeding your fish, as decaying food will pollute the environment. Most importantly, keep your fish food supply tightly sealed and in a cool, dry area so it doesn't absorb excess moisture from its surrounding climate and become nutritionally degraded.
Temperature
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Fish food that is overheated is at risk of losing its nutritional value. Thiamin, riboflavin and vitamin C are particularly susceptible to heat. On the other hand, freezing fish food damages essential fats in the food, which compromises fat-soluble vitamins. The best place to store flake fish food is in an air-tight container, such as a sealed plastic bag, in a dark corner of a refrigerator.
Age and Freshness
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Unless you have a very large tank or aquarium with many fish, you should avoid buying fish food in bulk. After a month or two, vitamins begin to break down, rendering the fish food nutritionally void. A high-quality raw fish food that is kept away from light in a very air-tight container at a low temperature may keep as long as six months. However, as a general rule of thumb, you should toss food after a month or two.
Considerations
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Always use the highest quality fish food you can provide, and take proper storage precautions. Depending on the type of fish you keep, you may decide to supplement flake food with a live food source, such as mealworms. These foods have very specific storage needs and a shorter shelf life.
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