Sad Fish

The latest thing to hit luxury spa pampering has arrived - Fish Pedicures. You place your feet in a tank of fresh water and let tiny carp fish nibble away. The fish clean off and soften the skin prior to a standard pedicure.

The Yvonne Hair and Nails salon in Alexandria, Virginia offers a service where garra rufa Doctor fish nibble the dead skin of clients’ feet. Proprietor John Ho claims that 5,000 customers have had the treatment so far. It costs $35 for 15 minutes and $50 for a half hour.

Ho was skeptical at first about the fish, which are called garra rufa but typically known as doctor fish. They were first used in Turkey and have become popular in some Asian countries.

In addition to offering pedicures, Ho hopes to establish a network of Doctor Fish Massage franchises and is evaluating a full-body fish treatment that, among other things, could treat psoriasis and other skin ailments.

Ho said the hot water in which the fish thrive doesn’t support much plant or aquatic life, so they learned to feed on whatever food sources were available — including dead, flaking skin. They leave live skin alone because, without teeth, they can’t bite it off.

Ho spent a year and about $40,000 getting the pedicures up and running with a few hiccups along the way