I'm sorry you are taking this so badly. You made anyone who told you not to test nitrates due to the presence of nitrites (whom you called naysayers) part of the conversation. The intent was never to make you angry, imply that you haven't researched or that you aren't listening to advice. Just expect that if you act as if you know more than someone who has been at this for decades when this is your first tank, they might get either a bit defensive or pushy. It's not meant to sound condescending. Just meant to help. Some might call it tough love.
FWIW, the key water parameters of the worlds oceans rarely change even a tiny bit. The currents change, the moon phases and tides change, and these changes generally spur events like spawning. Not ammonia suddenly becoming present. You won't find a single reef in the world with measurable ammonia unless it's being polluted. Same with nitrite. Nitrate, Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, Phosphate, etc. will all remain very stable unless the water is being polluted. Even temperatures remain very stable. Generally much more so than we can replicate in a tank. IMO, replicating the extreme stability of a reef is the most difficult thing to do in this hobby.
Anyway, good luck. I'm sorry if I offended you some how. I hope your tank becomes a beautiful show piece some day. I'd also like to help ID the critter but the pic is just too blurry for me to make anything out. If you could try to get a more clear pic it would help a lot.
