Thinking About Restocking

[attibones]

Okay, so now that I'm mostly settled into my new apartment, and the tanks are almost functional again, I'm trying to get some ideas about stocking. 
 
I popped into Petco today to price some water changer parts (online they had a good deal on the Aqueon's answer to the Python, but it was online only, so I think I'll just make my own), and I, of course, had to have a peek at the fish selection. They had some very attractive "julii" cories, but I'm pretty sure they are actually C. trilineatus, not C. julii. Anyway, seeing these handsome little dudes made me miss my albino cory clan from my early days of aquarium keeping. 
 
I've got a 35-ish gallon tank that's empty. I'm looking for suggestions about stock.
 
First some specs:
 
36"x12?"x18" (LxDxH) (was advertised as a 38 gallon, but is probably more like 30-35 gallons)
200 watt heater
Tetra Whisper EX (suitable for "45 to 75 gallons" which is quite a range)
 
I have very soft water (presently working to determine the gH), a pH around the high six mark. And I have lots of plants and hope to acquire more soon.
 
Hardscape includes two pieces of manzanita, one piece of a lovely Mopani chunk, and several pieces of cholla that need inspection (pit bull got into the cholla)
 
So I would love to get a school of about ten corydoras, either the false or true julii, depending on what the other LFS can order in for me (I don't like to buy stock from Petco).
 
I miss my peacock gudgeons and my BN plecos, and my emperor tetras, but I think the tank would be too stocked with the plecos (even if I just had one).  
 
What do you guys think about a stock kind of like this:
 
10x corydoras (julii or false julii)
3x peacock gudgeons (1mx2f)
10x emperor tetras (or penguins or black neons (depending on suitability), I like those too)
 
I am also interested in gourami species, but I've never had them. I'm thinking along the lines of honey or pearl gourami. I love angelfish, but the 55-75 gallon I wanted to get doesn't fit in the new apartment, so I'm going to have to wait on those guys. Again.
 
Also, are black neon tetras susceptible to neon tetra disease? I really like the way they look. 

 

[Byron]

I've not kept the gudgeon (Tateurndina ocellicauda) but I gather from SF that it is more interesting in a small shoal.  More on this here:
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/tateurndina-ocellicauda/
 
I would suggest a different tetra than the Emperor here though; Emperors are quite active fish, and with the gudgeons some of the quieter species might work better.  Penguins and black neons fit this, as would many others.
 
BTW, I have a tank with the same measurements and it is a 33 US gallon. 
 
Byron.

 

[attibones]

I've had the emperors and the gudgeons together previously and they did really well, but I only had five tetras at the time. You may recall I was planning on increasing my school as the shop got in new specimens but then my tank pretty much froze. However, I am very willing to try new species, particularly if the mild mien of my tetras was a fluke. My only concern about the black neons would be the potential for neon tetra disease. I've not found much information about black neon tetras getting this like regular neon tetras do, but it is still something I worry about.
 
I also am very fond of rasboras, all varieties.
 
Do you think I would have enough space at the bottom of the tank for more than three gudgeons? I had about ten of them previously and I loved watching them. They were great fish with loads of personality. Maybe I'll look into getting six. Ten would be very busy at the bottom, I think.
 
Also, I found some plants I, erm, forgot to unpack. The smell was overpowering. I've got to replant before I get any new fish. Oops.