Hermit Crabs, are they smart?

[a.stebel]

Hello All. I am new to the hobby with a 90 gallon tank with lots of rock work, currently stocked with snails and crabs.

I have had 2 electric blue crabs in the last couple of days ditch their shells and walk around naked in the tank for a few hours. There is a new selection of shells I put in the corner of the tank (15 or so). Are crabs smart enough to find the new shells in the tank?

I put a new one in front of one of the naked crabs and he went in it within an hour. The other crab is missing, I found what I suspect is his molt as the insides were empty.

Also how do hermit crabs molt? Is it normal for them to walk around naked for a bit?

 

[charlesr1958]

For an invert, I consider them relatively intelligent as they seem to have a curious nature. As an example, they are known to wait for predatory snails to finish consuming smaller snails in order to get a new shell out of the deal. That to me indicates a bit of forethought.

It would not be common for hermit crabs to stroll around without a shell as they would of course be very vulnerable to predators, unless of course they have figured out that there are no predators in their aquarium and feel comfortable to walk around in the buff...lol

Chuck