Liu Yi-lien, director of the county's health bureau, noted that fish-nibbling was introduced in Taiwan a few years ago and that it is also popular in Japan and South Korea.

But "there is no scientific data to substantiate the claims of its medical benefits, and in fact there could be a hygiene problem," Liu said.

He said that people who have skin aliments, sores or open wounds on their feet should not dip their feet into hot springs pools, as this could lead to a spread of infection.

Some spa operators in Yilan in recent years have put hundreds of fish into their hot spring pools to nibble the feet of bathers, claiming that the toothless fish would remove dead skin, give a pedicure and help cure psoriasis and other skin ailments.

The tingling sensation of the fish nibbling on the skin "could be an incentive for going to the spa," one operator said.

But it has been reported that based on hygiene and infection concerns, several states in the United States have banned the fish-foot-feeding pedicure practice.

(By Lilian Wu)