IMO = In my opinion
YMMV = Your mileage may vary
Still recommend sand, but a coarse grain. Not play sand, which is very fine and compacts itself down tightly. A pain to maintain.
The sand will need to grow bacteria, which can take a couple of weeks. How you accomplish this depends on whether your are replacing old substrate with new, or starting a tank from scratch and using contents of another tank. What is your situation in that regard?
Catfish actually require sand, and fish like cory cats will actually have a markedly shortened lifespan if they are kept in gravel tanks, in my experience. Their barbels are used to find food from the bottom, and sand is the substrate found in their natural environment.
For tall and lush you cannot beat Amazon sword, and I always keep cryptocorine species, java moss and fern, and Anubias species. The last three don't require substrate - just rubber band them to driftwood, rocks or your slate and they'll attach themselves. Those are no-brainer plants that require very little from you.
See what plants are available and research them as to light requirements. The groundcover type plants are going to be tricky without high light, CO2 and other nutrient dosing. Green hygro (or other Hygro species) is another plant I usually have in my tanks, but in some areas it is not available, considered a threat to the ecosystem if released in the wild.
Other plants to consider are anacharis, dwarf onion, temple plant, water sprite, aponogeton, banana plant, valisneria, dwarf sagittaria and/or chain sword (ground-hugging), echinodorus sp., wisteria, etc.
See what is available in your area and try it. If it does not do well, try something else. If the plant has red color to it, it probably has higher light requirements and may be tricky to keep alive. The fish you mention will do great with any kind of planted tank, and they will appreciate the cover it provides, and will help them establish territories.
What kind of lighting do you have or will you have?
