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Are there any dangers with dry fingernail paint on nails going into a fish tank? I do not want to lose my shrimps...or my new zebras because of a shiny gift!

It should be safe.

Absolutely agree with Mike - it should be safe. I'd expect the pigment in nail polish to be reasonably safe to eat, and hopefully when you muck about in the tank, the nail polish should remain on your nails, and not fall off in the water.

If you plan on digging around in the gravel A LOT and think your fingers will look unpolished after the event, it's probably best to not wear nail polish - but I'm pretty sure that's safe too.

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Mats

I would think nail polish remover would be more of a problem: acetone. It dries very quickly, but to make sure, wash your hands with plain water before sticking your hand in the tank.
Amanda

bronzefry wrote:I would think nail polish remover would be more of a problem: acetone. It dries very quickly, but to make sure, wash your hands with plain water before sticking your hand in the tank.
Amanda

Pure acetone is pretty harmless - and evaporates in no time at all. However, most nailvarnish removers contain various other things like oils to make the skin smooth (acetone is EXCELLENT if you like to have dry skin!). It may also contain other stuff to make it look nice and smell better than pure acetone (or smell nice afterwards at least).

So I agree, wash hands thoroughly after using nailvarnish remover.

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Mats