The absence of melanization in the pollen treatment is probably associated with shrimp health. Thus, in this study, shrimp health was apparently improved by a diet of fresh food supplemented with pollen. Consequently, no spermatophore melanization due to invasion by microorganisms or to captivity stress was observed, and the shrimp in the pollen treatment exhibited higher production of sperm cells compared with the treatments without pollen supplementation
(the control and paprika treatments). This hypothesis can be further corroborated by the higher survival rate reported for the pollen treatment.The effect of paprika as a source of carotenoids on the reproductive quality of male shrimp has not previously been evaluated. Carotenoids can be important for males due their function as a precursor of vitamin A, which plays an unclear role in spermatogenesis (Akmalet al., 1997; Harrison, 1997). Nevertheless, in this study, the sper-
matophore and sperm quality of the F. paulensis fed with diets with (control treatment) and without supplementation of 2% paprika (paprika treatment) were similar. Thus, penaeid males and females apparently have different nutritional requirements for carotenoids. Females of L. vannamei fed 2% paprika showed an improvement in reproductive performance (Wyban et al., 1997). Therefore, females may require carotenoid supplementation, probably due the need to reserve pigments (as astaxanthin) in eggs. In contrast, for males of F. paulensis, the carotenoids contained in fresh food are enough for reproduction, and a low-dosage (2%) supplement does not affect spermatophore and sperm quality.