Performance of two larval fish samplers, a hand-towed net and a dropbox enclosure, was similar when tested in shallow (X water depth, 20 cm) upper littoral-zone habitats. There was no significant difference between means of larval fish density (by total catch and by species) estimated from the catch in each gear, during the day and at night. Mean length of larvae (total catch) from the tow net was significantly longer than that from the dropbox during the day, but mean length did not differ between gear at night. Mean lengths of larvae of each species between gear were not significantly different within each period. Both gears collected significantly longer larvae (total catch and by species) during the day than at night probably because of die1 movements of larvae of different sizes and species.