A woman, whose feet had just been cleaned by an attendant, pondered whether she should dip her toes into the pond in front of her or not. When she eventually decided to do so, she couldn't stop giggling as a school of small fish came to tickle the palm of her feet.

The woman had just experienced a fish spa treatment, available at Kenko Reflexology and Fish Spa, located in Senayan City shopping mall in South Jakarta.

"It's a great experience. The light massage the small fish gave me is really unusual," said the woman.

The fish spa is a new treatment offered by PT Kenko Mahayana, which runs dozens of reflexology centers - currently without fish spas - in Jakarta, Bandung in West Java and Bali. Senayan's City fish spa is the group's first spa center.

It is also the first fish spa treatment available inside a shopping mall. The idea is to help shoppers and their families or colleagues relax after an exhausting shopping spree.

"If people get exhausted after shopping, they can drop by our center," said Fillya Hanna Muntu, PT Kenko Mahayana's assistant operations manager.

The interior of the Kenko center has a relaxing feel to it, combining tiles and wooden-panel floors in a dim lit atmosphere.

Jimmy Tan, Kenko's Singaporean founder, said the new fish spa treatment could be enjoyed by the entire family too.

"The fish in the pond are a species called Garra Rufa, which originated in Turkish pools. The fish are a toothless species, therefore safe for children," said Jimmy, who first established Kenko in Singapore in 1991.

The fish feed on dead skin cells found on the surface of the skin, leaving the skin smooth. Because of their therapeutic qualities, Garra Rufas are nicknamed "Doctor Fish".

Kenko Reflexology and Fish Spa has five ponds in its Senayan City center, two big ponds containing 5,000 fish each, and three smaller ones holding 2,000 fish each. All five ponds can accommodate as many as 35 people at once.

With several people putting their feet in the same pond, hygiene concerns have been raised. Fillya ensured that her outlet complied with hygiene and safety standards required.

"We remove 20 to 30 percent of the water everyday. We also filter the water and expose it to ultraviolet beams to kill any virus and bacteria," she said.

The water is cleaned using ozone therapy, also called ozonization.

Fillya added that employees made sure hygiene standards were applied, asking all customers to remove their shoes, have their feet scrubbed by an attendant and only walk around the spa with slippers.

"We don't allow people with acute diabetic problems to have this treatment. We are afraid of possible wounds," Fillya said.

Customers can also ask for a whole body fish spa therapy and immerse their entire body into one of the VIP room pools, letting "Doctor Fish" gently exfoliate unreachable layers of dead skin.

Other treatments available at the center include reflexology, hand and shoulder massage, traditional body massages and acupressure head therapy.

The reflexology treatment consists in massaging and applying pressure on certain parts of the foot to help heal any discomfort.

At Senayan City's Kenko Reflexology and Fish Spa center, extra pressure is applied during reflexology treatments, which causes pain for some people. However, after the massage, customers tend to feel relaxed and come back for more.

"I believe the fish spa therapy at Senayan City will become a hot spot among spa lovers in town," Jimmy said.

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