Ž . Aquaculture 201 2001 73–90 www.elsevier.comrlocateraqua-online Survival and growth of Australian snapper, Pagrus auratus, in saline groundwater from inland New South Wales, Australia D. Stewart Fielder a,b, ) , William J. Bardsley a , Geoff L. Allan a a NSW Fisheries, Port Stephens Fisheries Centre, CooperatiÕe Research Centre for Aquaculture, Taylors Beach Road, Taylors Beach, NSW 2316, Australia b School of Aquaculture, Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, UniÕersity of Tasmania, Locked Bag 1r370, Launceston 7250, Australia Received 22 June 2000; accepted 25 January 2001 Abstract Australia has extensive resources of inland saline groundwater, which may be suitable for culture of marine fish. This study assessed the suitability of saline groundwater, which was pumped from a shallow aquifer into an evaporation pond near Wakool in western New South Wales, for growth and survival of juvenile snapper, Pagrus auratus. Five experiments were Ž . conducted. The first showed that snapper 31 g did not commence feeding, lost equilibrium of Ž buoyancy and became moribund within 3 days after transfer from coastal seawater diluted to . Ž . 19‰ with rainwater to saline groundwater 19‰ . Potassium concentration of diluted coastal Ž . y1 seawater and groundwater both 19.6‰ was 203 and 9.2 mg l , respectively, while the concentration of most other major ions was similar in water from both sources. In the second Ž . experiment, groundwater of 21‰ salinity was fortified with potassium as KCl to provide 25%, 50% or 100% of the concentration of potassium found in coastal seawater of 21‰ salinity. Ž . Survival and feeding and swimming behaviour of snapper 1.5 g held in tanks for 8 days were the same in 50% and 100% potassium-fortified treatments as in coastal seawater controls. However, snapper held in groundwater fortified with only 25% potassium, or raw saline groundwater became moribund after 4 and 2 days, respectively. During the third 42-day experiment, growth, Ž . survival and food conversion of juvenile snapper 4.0 g were the same in diluted coastal seawater ) Corresponding author. NSW Fisheries, Port Stephens Fisheries Centre, Cooperative Research Centre for Aquaculture, Taylors Beach Road, Taylors Beach, NSW 2316, Australia. Tel.: q 61-2-4982-1232; fax: q 61-2-4982-1107. Ž . E-mail address: fielders@fisheries.nsw.gov.au D.S. Fielder . 0044-8486r01r$ - see front matter q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Ž . PII: S0044-8486 01 00555-5