Sunday, March 09, 2008

eastcoastlife Eaten Alive by Fish!? - WS #14

It was a freak accident. This morning, eastcoastlife and her students went boating and were attacked by a shark.

Very sad. So young. So beautiful. sigh .......

hehehe......

The truth is : eastcoastlife was attacked by fish......., not by a shark but these

Fish (Garra Rufa) nibbling at the dead skin

I went to a tropical fish farm and enjoyed a Fish Spa. This fish farm, Qian Hu, operates a nail spa that is different. Instead of using conventional tools to remove the dead skin and cuticle of your feet, it uses the fish, garra rufa.

The garra rufa is commonly known as Doctor Fish, Nibble Fish, Kangal Fish or Lickers Fish. This non-migratory freshwater fish is found in the rivers of Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Turkey and Syria. In hot pools, this fish can live at a temperature around 37 degree Celsius. They have a lifespan of 4 to 6 years.

At Qian Hu Fish Spa, customers are seated round a huge communal fish pool with their legs immersed in it. Scores of fish nibble away at the dead skin on their feet. I felt hundreds of tweezers pecking at my feet. It was ticklish, occasionally a bigger nibble fish would take a big bite. eowwwww ........

I was told my skin would feel silky smooth and healthy after the dull and dead skin is removed. So I graciously endured for 30 minutes. A lady claimed her skin was smoother after the treatment and intends to have her whole body immersed the next session. Horrors!

This Doctor Fish therapy is said to heal Psoriasis. The fish nibble at the diseased skin until the upper skin is completely removed and release a small quantity of dithranol, an enzyme which results in skin rejuvenation.

Qian Hu sells these fish, so you can re-create the spa at home. A small Garra rufa costs $10 and a larger one is $20. Don't worry, these are not Pirahna fish, your kid would not turn into a skeleton should they accidentally fall into the pool. hehehe....

Charges :
$10 for 30 minutes, with slippers and towels which you are free to take home.

Get eaten by fish - rewind and relax with your family and friends

Qian Hu Fish Farm
No.17 Jalan Lekar, Sungei Tengah, Singapore 698950.
Tel : (65) 6766 7087

Open Daily
Mon - Thurs : 9 am to 6 pm
Fri - Sun & Public Holiday : 9 am to 7 pm




This linky is for Weekend Snapshot members who comment on my post.

Spam is deleted.





89 comments:

napaboaniya said...

That's pretty cool!!! Does it feel ticklish? Imagine it's ticklish and I'll be laughing like a mad woman for 30 minutes!!

Butchay said...

good lord! i almost thought it was true..hehehhe! happy weekend!

Yen said...

LOL! Looks like you had a fab weekend,eh! :D Nice one!

eastcoastlife said...

napaboaniya,
Yes! It's so ticklish!

hahahahahahaha..... the next time I need to wear Pampers.

SandyCarlson said...

That was a fun start to a very interesting post! Great info.

Lynn said...

First time I heard about this. I'm not comfortable though w/ the thought that fish will feast on my feet. Lol.

WillThink4Wine said...

That is wild! I can't imagine allowing fish to nibble on my feet, let alone an entire body immersion! Yikes!! But at least you get a towel & slippers!

Me & my puppies said...

very interesting post, you learn something new everyday.

MmeHaydee said...

Would love to check that out! You seems to have an enjoyable weekend.
Are those fish also edible?? haha just curious.

poor man's nicole richie said...

omg, I was punk'd! hahahaha. you scared me.

Morning Sniffles

Kok said...

eastcoastlife,
$10 only?? Cheap cheap! I saw this "service" before in television. And they mentioned that this is real good.

eastcoastlife said...

mmehaydee,
No! The fish is not edible! hehe....

I cannot imagine eating fish which eat diseased skin!! *pukes*

eastcoastlife said...

Kok,
Wah! You find it cheap? I exfoliate my dead skin myself ... that's free.
hehehe.... I'm a cheapskate lah.

MomOf3 said...

I have never heard of such a thing! What a neat way to use nature to do something others use chemicals for! Neat!

Heart of Rachel said...

Great effect on the first photo.

That fish spa is very, very interesting. What was the experience like? I don't think we have something like that here.

sasha said...

Hi ECL! So how was it? Did it really made your skin smoother? I saw a news report on this and they are really testifying to the greatness of this fish spa.

Have a great week ahead!

Sasha
She

Cool Insider said...

Hmmm... looks like lots of toe tickling fun! The question I want to ask though is whether your feet really felt much smoother after that?

eastcoastlife said...

rachael,
It was very ticklish. Imagine lots of fish nibbling at your skin. And when the bigger fish takes a bite, it's like a pinch. yeow....

eastcoastlife said...

sasha,
Oh... I had some flaky skin on my heels and parts of it was eaten by the fish! There was quite a number of people in the pool, so the fish was divided among the people.

A few people seem to have lots of fish nibbling at their feet. I suspect their skin tasted better than mine. duh!

eastcoastlife said...

coolinsider,
Yes. It does feel smoother.

I'll try another two sessions and then buy the fish for my own home fish spa, then you and Ethan can come feed my fish. hehehe......

Jean-Luc Picard said...

It would have been more than ticklish had it been a great white shark!

eastcoastlife said...

Captain Picard,
Yes.... I'm sure I would not be tickled if it's a great white shark! hehe....

Carver said...

Too funny, glad it wasn't a shark that got you. Interesting post about the fish spa.

Larawannabe said...

the fish spa fever has caught on here in KL too. one will be open at the mall near my office, and i'm game to try it :D

have a great week ahead! :)

Beth said...

Looks fun and squishy :)

Margaret said...

This sounds very ticklish! I don't know if I could stand 30 minutes of it at one sitting LOL.

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Windy said...

Er... was it really work? Hmm... I'm just sceptical about it. But it must be quite funny that looking at the fish around your legs and the ticklish feeling.

Liza said...

that's so cool! i would love to try it. i wish they have it in here. happy ws.

Lis Garrett said...

Seeing as how I have strong phobia towards fish, this would be a nightmare!! However, I would greatly appreciate the rejuvenated skin . . .

Ada said...

Wow that sounds cool and scary at the same time, I'd love to try the pedicure, not sure about the whole body

Jeanne said...

great...you have a nice weekend :) happy WS

ValleyGirl said...

I've never heard of this before! Could be because I don't live in Singapore, Iran, Turkey, Jordan, or Syria, I guess. I'm pretty sure NO fresh water bodies EVER get to be that warm here in Canada!!

I LOVE getting my feet tickled -- I find it very soothing and relaxing (it drives my hubby nuts because he's super ticklish) -- so I'm betting this is something I'd really enjoy.

vera said...

weee.. wanna try that one too!


mine is up too!
http://www.pinoynetwork.org/vera
see yah!
happy WS!

Bengbeng said...

iiks...as men if we go inside i think the fish would eat us up there..towel or no towel iiks! suituapui left u a message on my post about glutton food

ehonchan.com said...

so cheap!! i also wanna go lerrr!!!!!!

etceteramommy said...

I volunteer to feed your fish once you got them? :P

Sharon said...

That first one is cool, you did a great job combining the photos! Happy WS!

kiky said...

look like a place I should visit when i fly to s'pore :-D

HiPnCooLMoMMa said...

OMGoodness! I don't think I can soak my feet in there, I'm so ticklish. that's the reason why I seldom go and have a foot spa =)

ettey said...

fish nibbling on my skin gives me the creeps! :-s

eastcoastlife said...

windy,
The fish REALLY eat the dead skin! My flaky skin on the heels has been almost removed! ... I applied some moisturiser last night on my feet and this morning, the skin feels better.

I will try feeding them some more..... hehe...

swampy said...

Welll, you 'got' my attention with that photo. OUCH!

eastcoastlife said...

etceteramommy,
Thanks for volunteering. I'll put you down on my feeding list. hahaha.....

Leonard said...

looked like a likely destination for me, my feet alway kena dead skin and those red red things!!

sorry hor, not HK feet!!

munchkin mommy said...

that's a very interesting spa treatment! i wonder if i can endure 30 minutes of ticklish nibbling. hahaha!

Nicole said...

Cool - I've never heard of that before :D
Would love to do that, sigh :D!!

maiylah said...

i did see something like this on television just a few days ago .... seems like they are really popular!

ghee said...

those are helpful fishes!looks so refreshing :)

my first time to know that you`re a teacher,too?thats great ;)

ghee

tigerfish said...

What if a person have athelete's foot??!! Poor fish! :O

LZmommy said...

So we don't need to feed the fishes? :) They just eat the dead skin right?

I heard abt this but never try it before. Hope one day I will :)

BlurMommy said...

Haha...I was also thinking what tigerfish wrote. Poor fish!! :)

snippets said...

wow ... that's so cool! I'm ticklish so I think this isn't for me! lol.

Times Eye said...

THAT WOULD BE A COOL EXPERIENCE,WOW

mama bok said...

So is it true..? the skin all smooth..??

Mar said...

A fish spa!! never heard of that! the things I learn through blogging ...
:)
Mar

ws said...

that's cool!

a great therapy too

ellen said...

sound unusual...but i wanna try a fish spa for myself....have a nice day!

Midas said...

So, did it work? Did your skin feel wonderful afterward to just prunny from being in water too long?

Just Say These Words

Ladynred said...

Like !'m ha! ha! looks like you enjoyed it very much huh! Would you do it again?

Lynne Laura said...

That is wild! Love it. Thanks for stopping by my blog and hope you are having fun!

Lynne

Haze said...

What? OMG! I can't imagine how ticklish it would be, lol. I can't do it, lol.

Great photos!

Haze said...

Im so impressed of what you've done!

Doreen said...

Does that mean people can also immerse their face into the water for facial treatment? Eeeewwwww...

Wilfrid said...

Erm ... so what's the end result ah? Do you feel like a 16 years again?

You really should go naked into the pond if it works. I mean ... I am sure you can certainly endure those ... nibbles! You should bring along your laptop and type and see what blog will come out of it ... ha ha ha.

Judy said...

Wow, I like, I like. I want to go there. But I think for the first few minutes, I will be laughing with tickle.

How did you get the first picture? What century was that? :P

Lilli & Nevada said...

Wow i have never heard of such a thing, how interesting is this.
I love how you started your story with the photos

Dave said...

What a wonderful picture with the shark. Yes, you are a very creative one.

genny said...

Wow thats cool i bit you it tickle hehhehh. I guess i cant do that i am ticklish.

LceeL said...

You know that has to tickle!! Not for me, but I think my Annie would love it.

scrappysue said...

what a cool place to visit! did it tickle?

SabineM said...

WOW! I am not sure I could do it! THOUGH i love the idea of using non conventional tools. HOW GREEN of them!
Wow, I still am not sure I could do it! NEVER MIND THE WHOLE BODY!
Loved the photos. GREAT #1

Reward Rebel said...

Fascinating exfoliation technique, which I've never heard of before, it's certainly unusual, and has the added dimension of creating a social experience, too;-D

AngelBaby said...

I don't know about the big ones when they bite! Ouch! Do they pluck the hair off of your legs? How about eyebrows? Sorry just could not resist. I think it would be fun to try. I wonder if they have any here in Los Angels.

I have something for you at my site.

Love and Blessings,
AngelBaby

Winn said...

30 min session is going at RM38 in malaysia..so expensive compared so sg!! arghhhhh

i liked it. but i dont think i'll be regular coz it's too pricey.
btw they dont sell the fishes here. :( i wan to buy la. i wanna breed them in my bathtub!! ahah

sunshineforlife said...

great entry. i love the feel of small fishes on my skin especially i love to see them when being feed.

angeles said...

liddat i better go and try at winn's bathtub first... hehe...

yeah, it's so much cheaper there compared to here... how come this fish spa suddenly so 'heng' eh?

eastcoastlife said...

tigerfish,
For those with athlete's feet, I think it's a bonus for the fish.

You see, we have smelly tofu and durian, some people love them despite the awful smell.

Well, athlete's feet would be a delicacy for the fish. hehehe....

eastcoastlife said...

lzmommy,
You feed yourself or your family to the fish. They will eat the dead skin. Cool huh? hehe....

eastcoastlife said...

mamabok,
I have some parts of my flaky skin on the heels eaten. The fish did eat the dead skin, so had I stayed longer and do this more frequently, I believe I can have smooth skin... eventually. ^-^

eastcoastlife said...

midas,
My skin felt good and I felt good too. :)

eastcoastlife said...

Doreen,
No! Horrors! How can immerse the face in the water for the fish to eat!? What if they go for the eyes?

eastcoastlife said...

wilfrid,
If I can have a body like a 16-year-old after this fish therapy, die die also I will let the fish feast on me!!

I'm wondering if I should accept the challenge for a full body fish therapy. hmmmm....

eastcoastlife said...

Judy,
The first picture was taken only 6 years ago at KLCC's Science Centre lah.

Come to Singapore, I feed you to the fish!! hehehe....

eastcoastlife said...

ladynred,
Yes, I would do it again! I'm considering full body now! hehe...

eastcoastlife said...

angelbaby,
Thanks for the award! :)

The fish doesn't pluck the hairs of the body! I guess it doesn't taste good. hehe....

eastcoastlife said...

winn,
You want me to send some nibble fish over? Maybe plus a bottle of my herbal wine. hehehe.....

Be careful when sengkor goes into the bathtub, the fish love protruding objects. hahaha.....

eastcoastlife said...

My angel,
I must send more nibble fish to KL. I bet LB also want to try! Ahhhh.... get him to rear them in his resort, then we can all go in the pond! hehe....

L B said...

Oooooh, I like!! This is such a better way than to look at tattooed fish! I love! I want! I must have!! Yes, can you imagine a full body immersion?!! Wow, even Britney can't do that!

Chev said...

I heard about this fish spa from one of my fren in PJ not long ago.. and I even suggested them to swim inside the pond so that the fish can eat the dead skin for the whole body. LOL