More Questions And A Strange Creature

[stef_uk]

So i've got my 260l/55g vision set up and running.Over the weekend i purchased almost 70lbs of live fully cured rock, Fiji and Indonesean, as well as enough rubble to fill my external filers trays.
I've done my first water test with everything in today and am getting the following:
Sg 1.023/24
Ammonia 0
Ph 8.2/8.4
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5.0
Does this sound about right for a cycling tank or are these readings more like a cycled tank?

Secondly,
The last 2 pieces of rock i bought were that big that i needed to go at them with a hammer.When the rock split there was what can only be described as a brown worm with darker stripes on it that was living inside a "burrowed" hole in the rock and then stuck out a thin tube like thing out of its 'head'.I got the rock in the tank and it went off on its way back inside its hole.I also discovered what looks like a mussel living in a gap in the rock and has been opening and closing over the last 24 hours.Its only about an inch long at the most.
The last and strangest thing ive seen was tonight.After doing my water tests i saw something swimming around the tank.The only way to describe it is looking like one of those cat toys you pull around on string.It was bright orange with a white head and the orange section looked like fur.I thought it was just being blown around the tank but it was actually swimming against the current of my powerheads.I last saw it swimming up my intake pipe for my canister filter,not being sucked up it but actually swimming up it.

I've looked at pictures of hitchhikers but it looked nothing like anything listed.
Anyone any ideas?

 

[Lynden]

Your tank may indeed be cycled. If it were I me I would begin some "ghost feeding" to keep the cycle (and fuel some diatom/'pod growth. You could add fish if it were truly cycled, and this may be advisable to keep the cycle.

Your 1st mystery beast was likely a peanut worm or similar creature (though peanut worms aren't exactly similar to other worms). They are harmless, very resilient, and make great scavengers.

The second one may have been an ostracod, or more likely, a brightly coloured copepod. Admittedly I haven't witnessed a SW ostracod in person, though they are common in freshwater ponds and, if I am not mistaken on the ID, are often a striking red colour. These "red dots" are often very powerful swimmers and quite interesting to watch.

Similarly, in a tank at school we had a medium-sized copepod (again assuming my ID is correct) that was bright orange. However it's growth was overtaken by triops and I can only assume it was eaten. Your creature will, unfortunately, almost certainly arrive at a likewise fate.

 

[stef_uk]

Thanks for the info on the cycling and the first creature. I've searched all over for a pic of something similar but cant find anything.The only way to describe it is that it looked just like a one inch long version of this cat toy..Same yellowy colour,same feathery type body and same round head shape!

 

[Lynden]

Could also be some sort of larvae.