What To Do With 2 Orange Shoulder Tangs

[jeeveless]

I ordered an OST from one place with a delivery date of last Friday. On Friday I had not yet received a shipping notice and on the site they showed out of stock (not real time inventory). I reached out to their chat agents who told me the order was not going to ship so I requested a cancellation and found another vendor with a physical location somewhat near me who had an OST in stock and proceeded to order on Saturday. I expect that one tomorrow. I just received notice that the initial vendor has shipped my OST for arrival tomorrow. They will both be about 3”. I considered calling vendor one to cancel but they are large and I can’t take the chance that the box would be lost or stuck in a fedex warehouse and the fish die. My current available cycled tanks include:

180G with various aggressive species
180G with various semi/“peaceful” species with individuals having shown themselves as less than peaceful
90G with various peaceful species
40B for quarantine
20G hospital tank

I also have a 75G that was broken down when I setup the most recent 180 so not cycled. I could set that up again but don’t want to move other fish again when I just stressed them with a move, and it seems silly and mean to have one tang be totally alone in a tank.

They may be ok during quarantine in a 40, they may not. I have options to manage quarantine if they aren’t ok together. There will also be Dispar Anthias (3) that need to be quarantined and I was not expecting 2 tangs so I’m thrown for a bit of a loop,

Has anyone been in this situation before? Any advice to ensure they’re both ok? I can separate them but I don’t think a poor 3” juvenile tang should go in a tank with a triggerfish, young grouper, porcupine puffer, lunare wrasse, etc. I’m also unsure a 90G is fair for one and I worry about them both in the other 180.

Would love some advice here!

 

[Elude82]

I ordered an OST from one place with a delivery date of last Friday. On Friday I had not yet received a shipping notice and on the site they showed out of stock (not real time inventory). I reached out to their chat agents who told me the order was not going to ship so I requested a cancellation and found another vendor with a physical location somewhat near me who had an OST in stock and proceeded to order on Saturday. I expect that one tomorrow. I just received notice that the initial vendor has shipped my OST for arrival tomorrow. They will both be about 3”. I considered calling vendor one to cancel but they are large and I can’t take the chance that the box would be lost or stuck in a fedex warehouse and the fish die. My current available cycled tanks include:

180G with various aggressive species
180G with various semi/“peaceful” species with individuals having shown themselves as less than peaceful
90G with various peaceful species
40B for quarantine
20G hospital tank

I also have a 75G that was broken down when I setup the most recent 180 so not cycled. I could set that up again but don’t want to move other fish again when I just stressed them with a move, and it seems silly and mean to have one tang be totally alone in a tank.

They may be ok during quarantine in a 40, they may not. I have options to manage quarantine if they aren’t ok together. There will also be Dispar Anthias (3) that need to be quarantined and I was not expecting 2 tangs so I’m thrown for a bit of a loop,

Has anyone been in this situation before? Any advice to ensure they’re both ok? I can separate them but I don’t think a poor 3” juvenile tang should go in a tank with a triggerfish, young grouper, porcupine puffer, lunare wrasse, etc. I’m also unsure a 90G is fair for one and I worry about them both in the other 180.

Would love some advice here!

Just keep them both.

 

[MiltonMMLN]

Hey Jeeveless, wassup?

I wouldn’t try to stop Vendor 1’s shipment at this point — you’re right that the risk of the fish getting lost in transit or sitting in a FedEx warehouse is too high. Better to receive both alive and then decide.


What I’d do:

1. Initial Quarantine Together (Short Term)
   Place both tangs in the 40g quarantine for acclimation and close observation for the first day or two. Watch closely for chasing or nipping. If aggression starts, add a physical divider so they can still see each other but not make contact.
2. If They Don’t Get Along in QT
   Keep the divider in place or move one to another temporary QT space. You can rotate them later if needed.
3. Post-Quarantine Plan
   Ideally, each tang ends up in a separate tank. One could go into the 180g with semi-peaceful fish (keeping an eye on any individuals that have shown aggression), and the other could stay in the 90g temporarily until it’s larger or you rehome it. I wouldn’t risk putting either tang in with the trigger, grouper, puffer, etc.
4. Regarding the Dispar Anthias
   Quarantine them separately if possible (20g hospital) or with a divider in the QT to avoid cross-contamination and reduce stress.
5. If You Don’t Want to Keep Two Long-Term
   Finish quarantine, then sell or rehome one to someone with a suitable tank (180g+).

This way, you avoid transport risks, ensure both fish arrive healthy, and give yourself time to decide which one to keep while maintaining their welfare.

 

[jeeveless]

Hey Jeeveless, wassup?

I wouldn’t try to stop Vendor 1’s shipment at this point — you’re right that the risk of the fish getting lost in transit or sitting in a FedEx warehouse is too high. Better to receive both alive and then decide.


What I’d do:

1. Initial Quarantine Together (Short Term)
   Place both tangs in the 40g quarantine for acclimation and close observation for the first day or two. Watch closely for chasing or nipping. If aggression starts, add a physical divider so they can still see each other but not make contact.
2. If They Don’t Get Along in QT
   Keep the divider in place or move one to another temporary QT space. You can rotate them later if needed.
3. Post-Quarantine Plan
   Ideally, each tang ends up in a separate tank. One could go into the 180g with semi-peaceful fish (keeping an eye on any individuals that have shown aggression), and the other could stay in the 90g temporarily until it’s larger or you rehome it. I wouldn’t risk putting either tang in with the trigger, grouper, puffer, etc.
4. Regarding the Dispar Anthias
   Quarantine them separately if possible (20g hospital) or with a divider in the QT to avoid cross-contamination and reduce stress.
5. If You Don’t Want to Keep Two Long-Term
   Finish quarantine, then sell or rehome one to someone with a suitable tank (180g+).

This way, you avoid transport risks, ensure both fish arrive healthy, and give yourself time to decide which one to keep while maintaining their welfare.

Thank you! That’s what I was thinking we’d do so it’s good to have confirmation that we’re on the right track. Appreciate your thoughts