New Axie: VERY Active

Hi Everyone,

New Axie, about 6-7 inches long (15-17cm). Got her yesterday, set up tank before hand etc. Read up, used tap water with a dechlorinator. Temp is fine, tank size is fine, cleaned the rocks at the bottom very well before tank set up. And I even took them out and rinsed them about 10 more times today just to make sure. 2 plants put in the tank today.

Heres the issue: She was swimming constantly back and forth, back and forth back and forth along the glass, front , sides, and back, all night last night. Up and down as well. We took the filter out thinking the flow of water might be too much for her. I gave her a complete water change as well today. Now she is doing the same thing, only not up and down, just back and forth along the sides of the glass. My boyfriend said "At the pet shop, three sides of her tank was covered, she could only see out of the front."

I put newspaper on the outside of the back of the tank, she stopped swimming there, I did it to the sides of the tank, she stopped swimming there, then she just went back and forth on the front of the tank glass. All day. So I put newspaper on the front too. Now she is in tank that I cant see into, except from above, however, she's not moving constantly and has calmed down, chilling at the bottom like I assume a normal axie should. Any ideas?

I know I need to check the ph lvl and nitrate and all that, and will do so tomorrow. But, its just bizarre that since she cant see out anymore she has calmed down. Has this happened to anyone before?

You are doing a fine job. Perhaps your axie is just adjusting to the new surroundings. Did you provide enough shadey hiding spots? Bright lights can unnerve an axie.

Another thing Ive noticed as Ive been watching her is a small growth on her left hand, three actually. Two are sharp and small, they look like another 'finger' only smaller. The other looks like, do you know what a skin tag is for humans? It looks like a skin tag on her hand, its round. The pics are not very good. But its the best I can get without disturbing her terribly with flashing.

I just want to make sure it's nothing harmful.
Thank you so much for calming my nerves. Hopefully she will settle down in a few days. And yes there is shading and a place for her to hide.

The lesion could be either a harmless regeneration issue, neoplastic growth or an abscess. It is pretty hard to tell just based on the photos. Does it have flaking skin, ulceration or discharge?

It has none of those three things that I can see.

Also, just from the size, can you tell how old he/she is? I just want to know if it is sexually mature so I can tell if it is a female or male. About 16cm.

She calms down when I do water changes. And then after about 30 minutes she starts getting active again. Though today she has been much better than yesterday, so hopefully you are correct in that she is just getting used to her new home. Again, thank you for the help.

If the lesions remained unchanged in size, shape, colour etc. I would not fret about it.

Check the toe tips. In sexually matured axies, light coloured axies will develop dark toe tips whereas dark coloured axies will get white toe tips.

Your axie will likely be a young adult.