i think the main going reason for losing the pacu is the fact that not only is it going to hit 30"+, but it will do it quickly (unless cramped space doesnt allow it) and they are very powerful fish. when is small tanks (anything smaller than an 8x4) and they freak out for what ever reason they can hurt themselves pretty bad, along with fish that get in the way, and you can kiss your aquascaping good bye. im just saying this from experience, i had one in my 600g and ended up gettign rid of it after a few months. it would eat ALL the food i put in there, would knock over all my drift wood and caves, got mean and started chewing on my catfish/heater cords/powerhead cords and would sprint into the side of the tank from time to time and mess its face up. anyway, again, its your fish, just be ready to upgrade when the time comes.
your 265g will work for a while, but as they grow they should also be upgraded to something larger. at 24"+ they will have a harder time turning in anything smaller than 24"wide.
i havnt had a problem w/ my arowana eating any of my cichlids, barbs or catfish (even ones as small as 2") for a while now, seemed to grow out of it, or maybe just got to big and slow. i wouldnt risk the corys though, the aros can probably pass them, but i know i sure as hell wouldnt want to....they are spiny little bastards and ill admit, they do look mighty tasty, like popcorn shrimp. id personally go with a bigger cat just incase.
i have heard that arowana need to be around 4 or 5 years of age to be able to spawn, or around 30". as said, there are many theories on why aros get droop eye, im leaning more towards genetics, i have never seen aussie aros or black arowana w/ droop eye....so im assuming the genes in the breeding ponds that asian aros and silvers are bred are simply over used and way too inbred at this point. diet might be a factor, but my arowana has been eating mainly mealworms, crickets, prawns and pellets most of its life...so i wouldnt assume there would be enough fat in those to be a problem, but it still ended up with droop eye in one eye .
sorry about such a long post