The Florida Board of Cosmetology has banned a pedicure where live fish nibble dead skin from the feet before it even took off in the state. The board said salons had been checking up on the legalities of this trendy pedicure and decided to nip it in the bud.

This form of pedicure where a person puts their hands, feet or other body parts into a bowl or a pool and the fish nibble on the soft decaying skin is popular in Asia and had made its way into some cities in the US.

According to the Florida Board of Cosmetology, which is housed within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, fish pedicures violate two previously standing rules and therefore cannot be permitted.

The first is the rule that prohibits animals or pets (excluding animals trained to assist the hearing impaired, visually impaired or the physically disabled) in salons. The second rule is one that sets the standards for pedicure sanitation requirements. A spokeswoman for the Florida board says there's concern because there's no way to disinfect a pool of fish in between uses.

In a release the board said salons and the cosmetologist could be subject to citations and fines if they are found performing fish pedicures.

The states of Texas, Washington, Massachusetts and New Hampshire have also banned the pedicure.