Tort frag rapidly bleached/not RTN?

[nbooks]

typically my frags just RTN quickly if they arent going to survive, this time it looks like bleaching that started before even removed from the shipping bag?

current params:
salinity - 35ppt
temp - 78.5
alk-8.5 (target 8.5-8.9, try to add frags on the lower end to be closer to where they come from )
mag - 1400
ca - 460
nitrate - 20 (stopped carbon dosing, and playing with skimmer run time)
phos - 0.02

tanks is 6 months old with decent coraline, birds nest and other sps fargs have been doing well. hydra 32 light lowered 25% on 5 day acclimation schedule. frag was growing under radions.

this cali tort frag arrived to me about 48 hours ago. when acclimating/dipping in coral rx i noticed that the left most branch in the first picture attached had a slightly lighter tip, but was not losing tissue. frags arrived packed well and warm per my wife who received them and it was floated in my tank tank for about 5 hours until i got home from work.

the color loss began extending down that branch and has no gone onto another one of two but does not look like tissue loss. i had a tort frag fail previously that had tissue just melt and string off...i think i still see tissue, but just bleached? other branches have open polyps and have basically since placed in tank.

any thoughts/advice? im afraid/frusyrayed this is looking like another shipping stress loss...pictures are under white light

 

[nbooks]

i guess realistically im wondering how much longer i wait to chop off the white branhes and hope i dont lose the remainder....

 

[Paul Howard]

I would suggest chopping off what is alive, dip, re-mount on new plug.

 

[fishhead1973]

Sorry for your lost. Take a picture of it email to them they might help you out. Acros can sometimes be very picky. In my opinion wait a year before adding acros you tank my still be a little off balance.

 

[ScottB]

@Paul Howard has it right. Be conservative and cut into living flesh and discard the rest.

As @fishhead1973 said, I would ping (privately) the vendor to try and understand what might have happened. Differences in nutrients? dKH? Anything they can they do? You might be surprised how willing they are to pitch in if you are reasonable and forthcoming. You don't need to be terribly assertive, just concerned. Trying to get to a conclusion.

 

[nbooks]

i snipped off the rtn'd branches....rest of the colony is perfectly fine and showing great polyp extension/coloration.

even has polyps changine from dark blue to neon green, which against the blue body is pretty cool!

adding this one to the experience book...dont give up on it too quickly, interesting to see that somehow only half of the colony got shocked? realistically i didn't do anything heroic to stop the tissue loss.

 

[nbooks]

as evidence, heres the remainder of the piece. taken last night.