The formation of zinc finger peptide-$Zn^{2+}$ complexes in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was examined using three different metal ion sources: $ZnCl_2$, $Zn(CH_3COO)_2$, and $Zn(OOC(CHOH)_2COO)$. For the four zinc finger peptides (Sp1-1, Sp1-3, CF2II-4, and CF2II-6) that bind only a single $Zn^{2+}$ in the native condition, electrospray of apo-zinc finger in solution containing $ZnCl_2$ or $Zn(CH_3COO)_2$ resulted in the formation of zinc finger-$Zn^{2+}$ complexes with multiple zinc ions. This result suggests the formation of nonspecific zinc finger-$Zn^{2+}$ complexes. Zn(tartrate), $Zn(OOC(CHOH)_2COO)$, mainly produced specific zinc finger-$Zn^{2+}$ complexes with a single zinc ion. This study clearly indicates that tartrate is an excellent counter ion in ESI-MS studies of zinc finger-$Zn^{2+}$ complexes, which prevents the formation of nonspecific zinc finger-$Zn^{2+}$ complexes.