The relative merits of 3 aquatic sampling instruments for rice fields were compared. A 0.1 m2 area sampler was compared with a 400 ml dipper in terms of organisms per volume of water sampled. In addition, an unbaited and unlit minnow trap was compared to the other 2 devices, but on a qualitative basis only. The area sampler collected more than the dipper in terms of numbers of organisms and numbers of taxa. It also collected more taxa than the trap. The dipper is easy to use and is adequate for the quantitative sampling of mosquito larvae of qualitative sampling of plankton and slow moving microorganisms close to the surface; but not benthos. The trap collected adult Coleoptera and other nekton, including Gambusia; some of which were barely represented by the other 2 methods. The area sampler required the most work, in terms of man-hours spent to collect and process samples and the trap required the least.