Paolo, As noted, detergent should help break up the clay without destroying the shells. If you have a high phosphate detergent it will be best. Micropaleontologists use nested screens that get fine enough to catch small foraminifera. In a pinch, a screen for sifting flour should be fine enough. Allen Aigen [log in to unmask] -- "Paolo G. Albano" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Dear Conch-lers, I have added little information on my website about the trawling trip. I've also rationalized the photos using pics in the main page: in this way loading time should be less and you can enjoy photos clicking on the pics. I had some problems while sorting a small sample of deep water mud found in a bottle taken by the trawl. I used a very fine metal mesh (0,5 mm), but mud always tended to create agglomerates which hid the small shells. Moreover, the mesh was probably not fine enough for the tiny bivalves present. Any suggestions? Thanks, Paolo Paolo G. ALBANO Bologna, ITALY E-mail: [log in to unmask] Homepage: http://members.xoom.virgilio.it/pgalbano Webmaster of Società Italiana di Malacologia website http://www.aicon.com/sim ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------