Feeding Frenzy

[RobberyinCSharp]

I have a 20 gallon tank with 2 GBR, 4 rummy nose tetra and 4 cardinal tetra. When it comes time for feeding, I always spread food throughout the tank so there is an even distribution. Unfortunately, I am finding that my rummy nose are actually terrible at finding food and finding it quickly. I haven't seen them eat sufficiently yet, and I believe it has led to the death of one of my rummy nose tetra,who I found dead this morning

Does anyone have any suggestions? I mix sinking pellets and flakes for now, and no matter how hard I try, the rams are too fast and gobble up all the food like pigs. I'm worried my rummy nose will starve!

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

Fish can go a surprisingly long time without eating.
 
That being said, I also have rummy nose tetras and I agree with you.  They are horrible at finding food.  In my experience, not only are they bad at finding food during feeding time, but they strongly prefer food that is in the water column (i.e. not floating). 
 
I also have a 20 gallon (high) and they share the tank with guppies and swordtails.  Those livebearers chomp up the food while it's floating.  Luckily, they are messy eaters and eventually scraps of food begin sinking.  That's when the rummy noses go for the food. 
 
I noticed my rummy noses weren't eating as much as I'd like them to when I first got em, and here is now I addressed it:
1) I gave two small sets of food.  The first set I gave, the guppies and swordtails ate.  Scraps fell, and the rummy noses started eating.  To keep the guppies and swordtails off the sinking food, I dropped the second set.  That way, the livebearers stayed at the surface and chomped away while the rummy noses had their share of food as it sank.  It took a while to get the portions right, cause if the first set was too big, that left scraps of food on the bottom of the tank.  If the first set was too small, it would all get eaten before anything started sinking.
 
2) I am currently working on this new one.  I am trying to condition the fish to know when I am about to feed them.  I do four very light taps (no harder than you would tap on your eyelids with your eyes closed) on the glass before and during feeding.  So four sets of taps before I drop food, and I continue these taps until the fish begin eating.  It seems to be working well for the livebears; they caught on within a week.  The rummy noses, not so much yet.
 
Good luck! Rummy noses are my favorite tetras.  I hope this helps!

 

[the_lock_man]

I don't know if it would make a difference or not, but I wonder whether increasing the shoal would help. If they feel a little stressed due to lack of numbers, it may inhibit them from going for food.

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

I don't know if it would make a difference or not, but I wonder whether increasing the shoal would help. If they feel a little stressed due to lack of numbers, it may inhibit them from going for food.

 
Good point.  Four rummy noses actually might be too few for them to be comfortable.  In a rare case, I had a school of five well broken into a tank.  I lost three after an Ich outbreak, but the two remaining rummy noses were still comfortable and swimming freely (I added more rummy noses afterwards).  But for now, I would also advise adding some more rummy noses.  The more the merrier!