Six semi-purified microparticulate diets containing coconut oil (CO), cod liver oil (CLO), and their 1:1 combination (CO+CLO) at 9% and 18% levels were fed to milkfish fry or late postlarvae in freshwater (0 ‰), brackishwater (16‰), and seawater (34‰) for 30 days. A three-factor factorial design (3×2×3) with three replicates per treatment was followed. Sixty-five milkfish fry (5 mg, 6 mm) were stocked per 15-l rectangular glass aquarium and fed with the experimental diets at 20% of biomass daily. Water temperature was 28±1°C during the culture period. Survival was not affected by water salinity, and lipid source or level. Among the 18 treatments, freshwater-reared milkfish fry fed with 9% CO+CLO had the highest specific growth rate, but this was not significantly different from those of freshwater-reared fish fed with 9–18% CO and 9% CLO diets or brackishwater-reared fish fed with 9% CO diet (P>0.05). As a main factor, salinity or dietary lipid level, but not lipid source, had significant effects on growth and feed conversion ratio of milkfish fry. Highest growth was observed in fish reared in freshwater and as salinity was increased, growth decreased (P