Improved reproductive performance of captive male broodstock of tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon with 17α-methyltestosterone induction

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of different 17α-methyltestosterone injection frequencies at optimal doses to improve the quality of spermatophore and reproductive performance of captive male broodstock of tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon. Broodstocks of tiger shrimp weighing 51-65 g for males and 86-161 g for females were collected from ponds and stored in a 3,000 m3 concrete tank. Male broodstocks were injected with 17α-methyltestosterone at the optimized protocol at 300 ng/100 g body weight at different injection frequencies, three times, four times, and five times at seven-day intervals. As a control, male broodstocks were injected with a saline solution to determine the spermatophore quality. Evaluation of the reproductive performance of the captive male was observed in the captive female broodstock tiger shrimp using artificial insemination. The weight of spermatophore (0.041 g), gonadosomatic index (7.71%), the total number of spermatozoa (64 × 106 cells/mL) significantly increased, and the percentage of abnormal spermatozoa significantly decreased by 73% as well as hatching rate increased to 43.14% at the injection frequency of four times compared to the other treatments. In conclusion, injection of 17α-methyltestosterone at the dosage of 300 ng/100 g body weight at the frequency of giving four times was effective enough to improve the reproductive performance of captive tiger shrimp. Therefore, the method proposed can be a strategy to produce better larvae and increase the income of the aquaculture business.