Well, what can I say……
Let’s start with what the experts say – ” Garra Rufa fish are exotic pedicurists.Found naturally in hot springs near Kangal, a small town in Turkey, they have been softening and cleansing the skin of bathers for centuries.”


Here’s what I think.   Hideous.  Horrible.  Vile.  In fact I could have been in danger of being cruel to animals because I have never had such animosity or loathing towards fish.  The poor little suckers must have been bruised and dizzied by the frantic removal of my feet from the tank the first 20 times that I put them in and out.  How anyone can find this relaxing is beyond me. After 15 minutes I was ready for a full swedish massage after tension and cramp had beset most of my body.  Have you ever done a car boot sale?  You know when you start to set up and people suddenly swarm towards you like vultures out of nowhere?  Well, this is the same.  You calmly have your feet washed, tranquil ‘feel good’ music plays gently in the background, you walk over to your tank in a pair of ‘crocs’ given out by the owners ( not too happy about that bit as how many other feet have been in there?) you sit down and place your feet tentatively into your tank of fish.  (At this point I would like to point out that the place I had it done was in the middle of a busy shopping centre in full view of the general public passing by on their way to New Look.)  All of a sudden the little rufas descend on your feet like hungry piranhas.  The feeling intensely tickles and they make a  strange vibration as they suckle on your hard skin and try to force their way between your toes.  I kept pulling my feet in and out and trying to kick them off in as gentler way as humanly possible.  I couldn’t watch them on the job as that made it feel worse.  The lady in the shop asked me to relax as I was putting off potential customers with my antics and that I’d eventually feel more relaxed.  LIES.  After the longest 15 minutes of my life was over, I did have nice soft feet.  Not completely devoid of hard skin but much better than a quarter of an hour before.  However, ten minutes with a ped egg is much better for the likes of me!  Don’t know if this is just a fad or we will see fish tanks eating away at us on every street corner, maybe Starbucks could have them installed?!  What a great money making business though – “Come and feed my fish – you pay!”