First Aquarium Photos!

[utahfish]

Ahh ok, interesting point. Is there anything you can advise as a 'clean up' thing that would work in there?

Water changes are the best clean up crew! Having said that snails and shrimp do a good job of maintenance. I like nerite snails theyre super algae eaters and amano shrimp. As they are busy eating algae off leaves and surfaces. 7DGH is fine for both.

 

[fishjamin]

What are the thoughts on harlequin rasboras in this setup? This was the other suggestion from the LFS. If I added another 2 neons to the 5 in there, would there be any room left for some Harlequins? LFS suggests yes, going to assume you guys think no?!

 

[CassCats]

no, harlequins need a 20 gallon as it is.

I would not add any other fish besides your neons.

 

[Essjay]

Shrimp or snails won't really thrive in soft water, you'd have to add calcium and other mineral supplements for both which would harden your water I believe so with neons this wouldn't really work IMO.

Just to clarify this:

The OP had hardness 7 dH. I have hardness 5 dH though my pH varies around 7.4 depending on the time of day.
I have nerite snails, malaysian trumpet snails, physid snails (those tiny 'pest' snails) and the tiny species of ramshorn (also called pest snails).
I have red cherry shrimp.

I have several nerite snails. The orangey red with black markings type was bought in July 2011. The black and yellow striped snail was bought in December 2013. The grey one was bought in December 2014.


So snails and shrimps are possible in soft water tanks. It's low pH which causes shell erosion.

 

[Salty&Onion]

Otos could work in a ten gallon, but they need to be in a group also, even though they're often sold as algae eaters singly, this isn't good for them. They're a shy but social within their own group species. They're also very sensitive to changes in water parameters, so need an established, stable tank.

They also need an established tank so they don't starve to death, and lots of plants. If you want to go for otos, wait until the tank is six months old so it's fully established and you've got the hang of your routine. Make sure you have a good amount of plants and hiding spots. If they feel like they have places to hide, they're out in the open more and you can see them.
Then a little group of five or six would happily clean most soft algaes. It's important to also feed them sometimes, algae wafers and blanched veggies, so they get the right nutrition, and because if they clean your tank too well, then they run out of food.

But "cleaner fish" are a bit of a myth. There isn't a creature that will eat fish poop, and I have 7 otos in a 15-16 gallon, but they don't eat every type of algae. Shrimps are so tiny, they don't need a lot of food to sustain them, so there's usually still plenty of muck that needs cleaning out. Snails eat dead plant matter and things, but they also poop a lot, and that needs cleaning up. All of them are nice to have in their own right, but I don't really think they help reduce your maintenance. Best to just wipe down the glass with a clean sponge right before doing a gravel vac/water change, and balance your light/ferts/bioload to reduce algae.

Saying that, I do keep otos and shrimp, but because I like them. I still have plenty of plant leaves and poop to clean up, and the otos clean the glass, but still leave the odd patch that I need to wipe down.

I know I know that's why I went on to pugmy cories.
"Cleaner fish" is is a myth, I can prove it. My pleco won't lick off the algae, but he surely will go for anything else. He will scare off other fish and fight to death for one alage wafer or piece of a blanched veggie
He's so cute

 

[Salty&Onion]

It's low pH which causes shell erosion.

Ahhh... I must have messed up something ..

 

[Essjay]

You know more about hard water fish than me though