The effects of increased water hardness. salinity. and source of fry on the survival and growth of striped bass fry from three females from the Cooper River, South Carolina. and two females from the Savannah River. Georgia. were studied at the Fisheries Research Unit. Auburn University, from 6 April to 11 June. 1971. Fry were stocked in one ofthree water treatments: control with a total hardness of 30 to 40 ppm; added hardness. 125 to 175 ppm; and added salinity, (chlorides) 1,100 to 1,500 ppm. Variance tests for homogeneity and contingency tables were employed for data analysis. Survival of striped bass fry was increased in the added salinity treatment. Fry survival in the control and added hardness treatments appeared to be dependent on the fry groups rather than the effects of the treatments. The survival of Cooper River fry appeared to be more variable in water with added hardness; Savannah River fry survival was more variable in the control treatment. The effects of added hardness and added salinity treatments on Savannah River fry survival were similar. Growth of fry in the added hardness and added salinity treatments was slightly greater than growth of fry in the control. The cause of the growth increase was not known.
