Laboratory experiments were conducted to study the effects of food concentration, turbulence and turbidity on growth and survival of striped bass larvae Morone saxatilis. Initial experiments indicated that striped bass larvae could forage and grow well ( G = 0.143 to 0.179 d-l) at food concentrations ranging from 50 to 250 ind I-' of the copepod Eurytemora affinis and that growth was similar on Artemia sp. and E. affinis. Subsequent experiments tested effects of turbidity (50, 100, 150 ppm kaolin), reduced light intensity (2000, 1000, 600, 300 lux) and turbulence, separately, and then reduced light intensity (450, 70, 12, 0.4 lux) in combination with turbidity (150ppm kaolin) and turbulence to determine how these variables moderate food requirements of striped bass larvae. Reducing light or adding turbulence reduced growth and forage rates, while adding turbidity in combination with turbulence apparently ameliorated some of the negative effects of the turbulence. Although growth studies indicated an energetic cost of turbulence, additional experiments comparing weight loss and starvation mortality in turbulent versus non-turbulent conditions showed no significant differences. A comparison of individual growth variability (G) in the turbidity (150 ppm) reduced light treatments and the treatment in total darkness without turbidity or turbulence showed that while average growth rates were positive, a portion of the individuals surviving until 25 d after hatch were either not growing or losing weight. Low light level in combination with turbidity and turbulence substantially reduced survival and growth rate, but even at very low light levels (< 1 lux) and darkness, striped bass were able to survive and grow. Results indicate that previous studies of critical food requirements of striped bass larvae may have overestimated necessary prey levels. Although striped bass larvae are well adapted for growth and survival in highly turbulent, turbid environments, encountering poor feeding conditions in the field is likely to greatly reduce their probability of survival to the juvenile stage.