Enjoy the fishing before validity expires
Purchasing fish food in bulk is the most economical way to raise aquarium fish, especially exotics, but before you go and buy your next batch of fish food it is important to know if fish food expires, how to keep it fresh and get answers to more related questions. Continue reading to know more.
Does Fish Food Expire?Just like other semi-perishable products, fish food expires as well. Most packets of fish food, have both a batch number and an expiry date on the packet. The expiry date also known as the shelf life, is the amount of time the food can be used safely without having to worry about it losing its nutritional value.
While most new hobbyists believe that the expiry date has to be followed to the letter, in reality this isn’t necessarily the case.
Most avid hobbyists, who have experience in keeping fish, don’t throw out the food on the exact expiry date, instead they use the expiry date of the food as an approximate estimate to know how to store the food before hand so that it retains its freshness and doesn’t develop moisture up to 3 months after expiry.
Using sealed food packets after they have expired is also safe as long as you haven’t crossed the 3 month mark and the packet hasn’t been damaged in any way during storing.
If in case insects have gotten into the food while storing, then it would be advisable to throw out the food rather than using it. The same rule applies for mold and other moisture related organisms that might have reduced the efficiency of sealed or opened foods after the expiry date.