First community tank. Any suggestions?

Let me start this off by saying. I am in no way a beginner when it comes to fish. I currently have 12 tanks, all ten gallons or larger. But I specialize in angels, bettas and goldies. I also have two gouramis. I didn't have any other fish besides them.

But today I picked up a free tank from a friend. The tank came with a pictus catfish and a cory. The two are fully grown and about two years old. The pictus is at least six inches long and the cory around 3. I don't know if they can continue to live together or not. From what I have read, they need to be in larger groups. But I don't think the larger groups will work in this tank, a 30 gallon long.

Some things I have read say that the pictus needs to be in a group of 3 - 5 and that the three will work in the 30 if no other fish are added. But a friend of mine, who has over 3000+ gallons in tanks, said that when she added another pictus to her "old man's" tank, the older one jumped the tank to another and has been happily alone ever since. This one given to me has been the only one for two years, I don't know if adding another would make him happy or not.

I can't really find info on how many corys should be in a group though.

What would you all recommend for this tank? I really want to make this a fun tank. So fast flashy fish, no guppies, and preferably easy to obtain. I really like rams but I'm pretty sure they would be a no go.