Question: Very active young axies

Is it normal for young axies (still very little and see through!) to be very very active??? Mine race around the tank exploring the plants, following me around the room sort of thing too, walking about over their pots and driftwood, and also zooming through their tubes.

Water levels fine, temp 18degrees, feeding great on worms, pooing fine.

It's great to watch and I love seeing them explore

over active axies can be a issue, they are normally very sedate during the day and become active at night.

is there much water movement in your tank? what about your water chemistry? axies also hate bright lights.

one thing you need to keep a eye on is how aerated your aquarium is, if there is not enough oxygenation happening they will hang about the surface and gasp, and move about more.

things you need to watch for are twitching, twisting/trashing, scraping and sudden bursts of speed. these are major indicators of stress as is a kink at the end of the tail and forward curling facing gills.

Gills are nicely laid back, no gill flapping, I have a gentle airstone, the surface of the water has movement, the filter creates very little water movement (plants dont wave, axies don't move about in it infact one sits on a leaf right under the filter sometimes and isn't affected), the tank is blacked out on the back and sides with black material then big bubble wrap stuff to keep it cool (works a charm compared to what it was like without it), water chem is fine (me and my family have kept tanks including tropical/saltwater for years so I'm good at this part lol), they have plently of hides and plants, eating fine, pooing fine, skin looks great, temp is 18 degrees C, and it is pretty much dark in their tank as they are in a corner of the room.

They don't like shoot off really fast for no reason they just like to swim about and chase their reflections etc. Also they don't gulp for air, I think I have seen one of them go to the surface once and that is it that I have seen. O and no tail kinks. The only time one got a bit stressed was when it managed to get stuck between a tunnel and the wall of the tank upside down as in head fist bum in air lol, i moved the pipe and he darted away.

Must be because they are young and curious

thats how my little guy acts when hes hungry, after i feed him he chills on the bottom for hours, but after he poops its back to swimming!!! as long as your axi is eating pooping and growing i wouldnt worry

Young axolotls are much more active than adults.

You probably won't see them gulp air until they get bigger. When they're small, their surface area to volume ratio is much higher, so they absorb enough oxygen through their skin and gills. Adults have a lot more volume, so they gulp for supplemental oxygen.

Kaysie, thats really cool i had no idea they breathed that much from their skin! everyday i learn something new on here... i love it!

I'm sitting watching him fly around the tank now (well could be a she I suppose!!!) starts off just bobbling along the bottom then he is up and off chasing his reflection, in and out the plants. The other one lies at the bottom on his rock just watching lol

My new axies behave exactly as yours do! One will chase his reflection and dart around the tank whilst the other is nice and relaxed at the bottom of the tank.

I think the one that darts is just trying to get attention so that i'll feed him

when my babies were see through, i noticed i couldn't see their lungs, just could see little air bubbles inside behind the head. Sometimes they came to the top to release it and they would make little bubbles ahah. See if you can see it!

I hope so. I have three juveniles, and while two of them are very relaxed, my wild type leisurely swims around his tank all day long, occasionally stopping to sit on plants.
It worried me for the first few days, but now I honestly think he just enjoys swimming.
He also likes to sit in the 1 tiny area in the tank that has any flow!

My axie that was super active has now discovered a hidey place in a plant that rests against the front glass. His/her head sticks out the leaves looking out the front of the tank all the time they still enjoy a swim about though, they often follow eachother, fall ontop of each other and generally bobble about on the bottom of the tank. I got a really soft moss ball (fake one) and they like to rub up against it, lie on it and nudge it lol