[BrodiKennedy]

A friend of mine took me to my first fish spa the other day, just a huge fish tank with a long seat down one side, located right outside the front window of a Thai foot massage business……how bizarre I thought……..but I knew I would be an instant fan because I loved the feeling of the fish nibbled at my toes as I cooled them off in the pools at Erawan Falls..

And I wasn’t disappointed it is a very funny feeling having both your feet and ankles nibbled at by about 50 little fish……I was so impressed that the next day I took my neighbour (Herman the Germany) along, once his feet were in the water he could stop giggling and had a huge smile on his face the whole time.

fish spa.JPG fish spa 1.JPG fish spa 2.JPG

fish spa 3.JPG fish spa 4.JPG fish spa 5.JPG


This is the first one I have seen, has anyone else tired this?
Is this something that the Thais have always done?

[cajonnmu]

Do you know if it is any kind of fish. Could I dip my feet in my next door neighbour's aquarium? I have seen an increasing number of spas advertising this locally but have never inquired about it.

[aburva.org]

They are springing up now! We saw one in the new Central Festival shopping centre in Pattaya recently.

[BrodiKennedy]

Do you know if it is any kind of fish. Could I dip my feet in my next door neighbour's aquarium? I have seen an increasing number of spas advertising this locally but have never inquired about it.

The lady at the spa told me the name of the fish…..I asked, because I thought what a great idea to set up in Australia……I can’t remember the name nor could I get my tongue around the pronunciation at the time, all those Thai lessons gone to waste……on the 3 visits (in 4 days) I have made there, there have been 1 or 2 dead ones in the tank each time, death by chocking on dead skin I suppose…I took one out on the 2nd visit, to be buried in the rubbish bin a small throw away, but it just looked like any small fish you would see in any home aquarium, maybe someone can help with the make and model of these fish.

You should stop in and give it a go Richard next time you see a sign, or you could ask your neighbour if you could just pop your feet in his pond for 20 minutes and see what happens…….I’m not sure how the people would go who don’t like to have their feet touched or tickled, I think it would be a nightmare for them.

[aburva.org]

The lady at the spa told me the name of the fish…..I asked, because I thought what a great idea to set up in Australia……I can’t remember the name nor could I get my tongue around the pronunciation at the time, all those Thai lessons gone to waste……on the 3 visits (in 4 days) I have made there, there have been 1 or 2 dead ones in the tank each time, death by chocking on dead skin I suppose…I took one out on the 2nd visit, to be buried in the rubbish bin a small throw away, but it just looked like any small fish you would see in any home aquarium, maybe someone can help with the make and model of these fish.

You should stop in and give it a go Richard next time you see a sign, or you could ask your neighbour if you could just pop your feet in his pond for 20 minutes and see what happens…….I’m not sure how the people would go who don’t like to have their feet touched or tickled, I think it would be a nightmare for them.

If these fish are not already native to Australia there is NO chance of importing them legally. However there may be a fish native to Oz which does this.

There is such a fish in South America, it's called a piranha.

[BrodiKennedy]

If these fish are not already native to Australia there is NO chance of importing them legally. However there may be a fish native to Oz which does this.

There is such a fish in South America, it's called a piranha.

Thanks Surawut, I understand fully about the Australian importing regulations…..

With a piranha fish spa in South America, maybe it would be 100 baht for 1 minute to get the same job done

[L8fGLM4d]

this is absolutely everywhere in Chiang Mai, someone came up with the idea and everyone else stole it.
I would rather go for the experience in one of the national parks around here. don't want to sit in a shop window and have strangers staring at my hairy legs

[Hmwmzian]

some people with psoriasis can get relief from these types of pools . there are some others , i think in other country's around the world. these fish also help people with excema and similar conditions my mother went to turkey and had good results
fileepyou need tocheck up on your piranha's

[Hmwmzian]

there are several types of fish that will do this all around the world, it is nothing new and it really helps people that suffer from psoriasis and exma and similar skin conditions

[Borzopayn]

I saw one of those places last November when I was in Bangkok. It caught my eye as I had seen a news item in the U.S. where some health departments were banning them.

While looking around for the name of those fish, which looks to be Garra Rufa (»ÅÒ¡ÒÃÒÃÙ¿Ò), I found some other interesting information on the same Thai health site. It says those fish are expensive as they have to be imported, which may cause some entrepreneurs to take the cheap route and substitute a different type of fish with sharper teeth, increasing the risk for wounds. So you should verify the species first. They also warn against using the service soon after cutting your toenails or shaving your legs, as even micro cuts are big enough to let in waterborne bacteria. Also, there's a high risk of contracting a kind of Tuberculosis (Çѳâäà·ÕÂÁ), and some bacteria are chlorine resistant.

http://www.thaihealth.or.th/node/12954

[L8fGLM4d]

I cannot definitely ID the fish in the pics but I would be surprised if the Thai entrepreneurs imported some expensive fish instead of rounding up a bunch at the local waterfall.

[zlopikanikanzax]

I think the fish might be called the Garra Rufa ( The Doctor Fish). I tried it last year in November when i was in Chiang Mai and found it a nice relaxing way to pass an hour or so out of the miday sun.

[77Dinaartickire]

Garra Rufa are a freshwater fish native to the the river basins of the Northern and Central Middle East. They are mainly found in Turkey and have long been used in outdoor spas there.

David

[kabelshik]

Nibbling by the fish was started in Turkey which is use for health treatment. Certain hospitals in Turkey are offering such service. The name of the fish call Garra Rufa or Kangal fish or Dr Fish . Later on it was introduced to Japan, Korea, China as fish spa. Since the Garra Rufa is prohibited to export from Turkey, someone had found the equivalent fish Call "Qin Qin Fish" from China. One years later this fish spa was booming tremendously in South East Asia especially in Malaysia. We could see the fish spa everywhere in Malaysia during the year 2008 and it was slowly cool down until now.

[kabelshik]

End of 2008, the fish spa started to introduce in USA. Everybody was excited in USA and no of fish spa has grown very fast until certain states in USA. Certain people has tried to bring in fish spa since Mid year of 2008. Because of the tight import regulation of fish, nobody was able to start the fish spa in Thailand until early of 2009, the 1st fish spa was setup in Siam Ocean Park (They using Thai fish as a replacement). Finally the 1st proper fish spa was set up in Jatujak Mall (beside Jatujak Weekend Market), Bangkok since April 2009. This fish spa still in operation. Since after that, this concept was stolen and spread everyaway in Thailand. Most of the Thailand and foreign visitor are enjoying nibbling by the fish and is still going strong in Thailand.

[DoterrFor]

don't want to sit in a shop window and have strangers staring at my hairy legs

There maybe a variety of fish that eat the hair on your legs as well, better than a wax job.

[DoterrFor]

there have been 1 or 2 dead ones in the tank each time, death by chocking on dead skin I suppose…

Death by being crushed or stepped on could be a possibility.

[L8fGLM4d]

There maybe a variety of fish that eat the hair on your legs as well, better than a wax job.

wax? you must be joking. I am not a mazochist.

[TOD4wDTQ]

It tickles lol. I couldn't stay in water at Erawan

[Hamucevasiop]

don't you had to wash your feet first. smelly feet aaaaaa.