Benthos samples stained with phloxine B at a concentration of 100 mg/l in ethanol and formalin preservatives were sorted in approximately half the time required for unstained samples. The time saved in sorting benthos samples depends on the amount of ditritus, number of organisms, and the skill of the sorter. The stain concentration must be adjusted to suit the particular substrate type and increased if the samples are composed primarily of organic detritus. The organisms in the stained benthos samples became bright red after 48 hours which offered good visual contrast to the detritus. Rose bengal has been used in samples at a concentration of 100 mg/l with equal effectiveness in reducing the sorting time. It has advantage over phloxine B in that good staining results in 24 hours and the red color is more vivid.