OLYMPIA — You can dine on fish but they can no longer nibble on you.

Live fish pedicures got the hook Thursday as state regulators decided tiny toothless carp sucking dead skin off customers’ toes is unsanitary.

“These fish are being used as tools, and we do not believe you can properly sanitize a live fish and guarantee it doesn’t spread diseases, germs or other infections,” said Liz Luce, director of the Department of Licensing.

The decision means The Peridot Nail Salon in Kent must stop employing members of the carp family known as garra rufa and sometimes called doctor fish to exfoliate customers’ feet. The company started using the fish last month.

It is the only licensed salon in the state known to offer this type of pedicure, said Department of Licensing spokesperson Christine Anthony.

Washington may be the first state to outlaw what a spa in northern Virginia is believed to have introduced to the country earlier this year. It is something that’s been available in Japan, China, Turkey and even Croatia, according to stories posted online.

What happened in Kent is a customer would get their feet washed then place them in a tub of water filled with these little toothless flesh nibblers that went to work devouring dead skin cells from tootsies and heel.

A department investigator and administrator visited the Kent salon. Neither had a fish pedicure while there, according to Anthony.

State law requires all tools and implements used in a pedicure to be sanitized, disinfected or disposed of after each customer service to prevent the spread of illness or infection.

These fish are tools and they cannot be sterilized, department regulators decided.

“While you can clean the water and put them in a new tank, you cannot guarantee there is not some residue of the previous customer in the fish’s mouth,” Anthony said.

Department officials informed Gov. Chris Gregoire’s staff of the decision Thursday.

“The governor appreciates the spirit of these entrepreneurs and understands the department’s concern that these small fish might cause big problems,’ said Laura Lockard, a spokeswoman for the governor. “We hope this is the end of the story, hook, line and sinker.”

Reporter Jerry Cornfield: (360) 352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.