# Fishy foot spas...yay or nay..



## Sheldon31 (Mar 21, 2012)

Hope it's ok I post this here..

On a group I am admin for (It's a fish life UK) someone has asked us all to sign a petition against the popular fishy food spas. It's when you put your feet in the tank of fish and they eat the dead skin. Never been up for it myself but just wondering if it's something I should repost and sign or should I remove it? I believe she's a member of an animal rights group judging by a few comments she's made that have been removed previously and we encourage friendly chat about fish on our page and don't want it turning into a riot.. My fellow admins want it taken down but are doing some research into the legitimacy of the claims that it's cruel to the fish. 

What do you guys think...


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I think it can be cruel, as most places treat the fish badly... There usually is no good washing done, people just put their dirty feet in, some probably have creams on their feet for sure.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## ab420 (Mar 27, 2012)

That's very odd, I've never heard of that before...


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## ZackyBear (Dec 1, 2011)

I have heard about it. Some of the spas are really meant for people with some sort of skin condition and the fish eating away the dead skin helps with it. As opposed to going to a hospital to get it scrubbed off painfully.

But that was years ago when I heard about it on TV.


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## Micho (Aug 22, 2011)

This is very popular in Asia. . .

I'm pretty sure the fish are kept in somewhat good condition, or they would have to keep re-stocking on these fish and losing in money in the long run. But I could be wrong.


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## BeckyFish97 (Apr 9, 2012)

From what I've heard the fish naturally feed on the dead skin, rather than being trained to do it, and if they didn't want to do it then they just wouldn't!I also know that in the UK there is some sort of rules about how many times a week individual fish can carry out the task, yes some people might have creams on their fish but I'm sure that the people in charge would have to make sure that the feet were clean before having them in the fish tub/tank!As for the conditions, from what I have seen of them in shopping centres the conditions they are kept in at that paticular place are impeccable!!!


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## Sheldon31 (Mar 21, 2012)

The other admins took it down I think. I can't find it anyway. I'm a new admin so I don't really make the decisions. My local fish salon is pretty good. They ask people not to use creams on their feet within 24 hours of cming in. (I go in for my eyebrows done occasionally). She links to a report where apparently it's cruelty because the fish don't naturally feed off skin but I've seen them in the wild and people go there (malaysia I think) to see these fish and dip their feet in. It's a big tourist attraction I believe. RSPCA want to crack down on it apparently. Yet they still think that dogs with food water and shelter is enough reason to leave them in abusive home...


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

It IS natural.. They are cleaner fish (cleaner wrasse specifically I think..).
In the wild it's actually quite a similar situation.. They run their own cleaning stations in reefs.. Large predator fish like groupers know where the cleaner wrasse "nests" are and go there on purpose.. They stand (float) very still, mouths open. The little wrasse will go all over the body picking off parasites and dead flesh, even swimming into the mouth of the large fish.. They never get eaten. It's quite awesome to watch. Both fish win.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

I'd be worried about squishing the little fishies accidentally, I Can be quite ticklish.

I wouldn't mind trying it, but it's a foreign concept here.


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## BeckyFish97 (Apr 9, 2012)

Olympia said:


> It IS natural.. They are cleaner fish (cleaner wrasse specifically I think..).
> In the wild it's actually quite a similar situation.. They run their own cleaning stations in reefs.. Large predator fish like groupers know where the cleaner wrasse "nests" are and go there on purpose.. They stand (float) very still, mouths open. The little wrasse will go all over the body picking off parasites and dead flesh, even swimming into the mouth of the large fish.. They never get eaten. It's quite awesome to watch. Both fish win.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Now that...is just...AWESOME!!!Sorry...I get easily overexcited


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.
Here's a good video showing cleaner wrasse (mind you there's hundreds of species around the wolrld), and cleaner shrimp. There's a shot of shrimp going in a divers mouth.. Though the shrimp crawling into the eel is the coolest.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## betta lover1507 (Aug 6, 2011)

heard about it, our Feet is used all over ground (hey i walk outside barefooted, FUN!!!! ) and it gets bacteria and really nasty, that ain't good :\

also, fish shouldn't be used for feet treatment, am against it. we used to have a shrimp that LOVED to get on our hands and take off dead skin  sadly he passed away


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Olympia said:


> It IS natural.. They are cleaner fish (cleaner wrasse specifically I think..).
> In the wild it's actually quite a similar situation.. They run their own cleaning stations in reefs.. Large predator fish like groupers know where the cleaner wrasse "nests" are and go there on purpose.. They stand (float) very still, mouths open. The little wrasse will go all over the body picking off parasites and dead flesh, even swimming into the mouth of the large fish.. They never get eaten. It's quite awesome to watch. Both fish win.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


If they are wrasses, then they are saltwater. When people come in, is the water they put their feet in saltwater?

(coincidentally, my latest issue of Aquarium Fish International has a huge article on symbiotic relationships between fish, including cleaners.  )


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Yea, I think they claim the salt water is food for your feet too.
All the photos I've seen of these spas have the fish in shallow filthy looking pools.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Poor fish. I mean, at least they put them in the proper type water but still, poor fish.


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

this is the fish they're talking about. i can't comment about it, because i've never seen them before. i first heard about a similar fish on VicTorious, the Nick show. they had a "Pooka fish" that was used for "feet smoothening", but was toxic. i then googled it, and found out about these little guys. didn't think much of them, because i didn't know places actually used them...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWXo9yOIrfg


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## Sheldon31 (Mar 21, 2012)

Ruffa Garra or something, is the fish used here. I remember seeing them on BNTM when the final was in malaysia and they had to do an advert while having their feet nibbled. I'm going into town on tuesday for my hair cut so I might do some investigating. Ask a few questions and snoop a little. But last time I peeked at it the water was clean and they had food other than the skin off peoples feet. The fish looked healthy and the girl who was working there said she owned fish (not these fish) herself that's why she wanted to work with the Ruffa Garra. I beleive they have to have a separate qualification in it.


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## Fabian (Dec 16, 2011)

I don't think they feed on our skins naturally because if they feed on our skins to survive,won't they starve in the wild?


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## Crowntailed (Apr 19, 2012)

Fabian said:


> I don't think they feed on our skins naturally because if they feed on our skins to survive,won't they starve in the wild?


 No they wouldn't, There are a lot of other animals they could feed on, like other fish and other animals that might go in the water. (like a hippo :lol The probably feed off other stuff though like stuff off the bottom or stuff off other fish.


I have mixed feelings about it because if the fish are well cared for then i see nothing wrong with it. But if they are liveing in dirty water and are being starved so they will eat people skin then i have a lot of things wrong with it. So it kinda matters what place you go to and what kind of fish they have.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Okay so first of all I HATE to bring up an old thread but thought everyone here would find it interesting. 
I was looking at TFK profiles, and clicked on something called "Doctor Fish", turns out it's garra rufa. Here's part of the profile:
"For treatment of skin diseases, aquarium specimens are not well suited as the skin-feeding behavior fully manifests only under conditions where the food supply is somewhat scarce and unpredictable.
The misleading information perpetrated by those who utilize Garra rufa in profitable ventures is that the Garra rufa actually eat dead skin but this is not strictly true, the filtration systems of tanks that have been analyzed have been shown to capture the skin.
During their activities of foraging they slough off dead skin. They are simply looking for food which in the wild consists of aufwuchs. In both marine and freshwater environments the algae [particularly green algae and diatoms] make up the dominant component of aufwuchs communities. Small crustaceans, rotifers, and protozoans are also commonly found in fresh water and the sea, but insect larvae, oligochaetes and tardigrades are peculiar to freshwater aufwuchs fauna."

Hope that brought some new insight into the topic. ^-^


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## tgh (Jun 2, 2012)

Yes, this freshwater foot spa fish is the garra rufa. I have a couple of these in my tank (not for foot spa though). I feed them algae wafers, pellets, dried worms. Really active and bold fishes.


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