TIBIAO, ANTIQUE ? Shrieks of delight and giggles filled a neighborhood along the national highway near the poblacion (town proper).

?Kalam! (It tickles!)? said 14-year-old May Joyce Absalon, a sophomore at Tario Lim Memorial High School, as she dipped her bare feet in the small and shallow pool of small fish.

Her three classmates eagerly watched her as hundreds of fish wiggled their way and lightly, but constantly, nibbled at her feet for a few minutes. The sensation was soothing, Absalon said.

For the past month, residents and visitors have flocked to the newly opened ?Fish Spa,? a two-hour ride from the Caticlan jump-off point in Malay town to Boracay Island, for a unique pampering experience.

Guests wade or swim in a shallow pool stocked with thousands of small fish, which act as exfoliating agents that nibble off dead skin, calluses and cuticles, and create a soothing feeling similar to weak but constant electric jolts.

The fish feed only on dead skin layer, leaving the healthy ones untouched to heal and rebuild. ?It feels like walking barefoot on the beach,? said Edmund Magdaug, 34, a seaman from Barangay Poblacion where the spa is located.

While fish spas have become the latest fad in other Asian countries, such as China, Vietnam, Thailand and Turkey, only three are found in the Philippines, including one in Boracay and another in Manila, according to Flord Calawag, 22, founder of the fish spa in Tibiao, 75 kilometers north of the capital town of San Jose.

But his place is unlike the high-end health resorts found elsewhere, which use the imported Gara ruffa fish species. One fish costs P150 to P300, and maintaining a school is costly.

For the masses

The Tibiao Fish Spa at the Calawag residence is meant to be a ?fish spa for the masses.? It uses a native fish species that can be found in Tibiao. (Calawag and his business partners declined to identify the species while they are filing a patent for their technology.)

The spa mainly services the community, providing a relaxing experience for a few pesos. Guests pay a minimum of P10 per 10 minutes and P1 for every succeeding minute.

As many as 25 people can dangle their feet and legs in the U-shaped pool while sitting on benches or chairs.

At first, one gets scared over the sight and touch of thousands of small, slippery and wriggling fish. The light, tingling jolts suddenly come as the fish nibble at the soles, all over the feet and the other submerged parts.

It can be excruciating, especially for the ticklish, but it gradually becomes soothing and relaxing.

Calawag, a marine fisheries graduate from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas (UPV) in Miag-ao, Iloilo, and eighth placer in the 2008 fisheries technologists licensure examination, said the fish came from a friend?s mountain pond and that he discovered their behavior himself.

In putting up the spa, Calawag gained the support of his family and close friends and former UPV classmates, Victor Marco Emmanuel Ferriols and Rex Delsar Dianala.

Both aquaculture fisheries majors, Ferriols and Dianala helped in the technical setup and operations, including designing the filtration and aeration systems.

One critical component of the project is maintaining the maximum fish density to enhance the experience and ensuring that the fish will survive.

The spa has become a hit for this fourth-class municipality of some 26,000, with 18 of its 21 barangays (villages) along the coast. While fishing is the main livelihood of the residents, they have never imagined that fish can be useful this way.

Since it opened on June 28, an increasing number of people have dropped by. They include government employees, students on field trips, farmers and even fishermen.

One school in Tibiao has offered its top students a free spa treat as incentive, revealed Rose Baylon, spa manager. Many students save up their allowances to go to the spa during recess period or after classes, she added.

Wet skirts

Teachers, curious why their students come to school with wet skirts, have tried out the spa.

The spa has boosted the town?s tourism efforts, according to municipal tourism officer Ritchie Jermia.

?The community will certainly benefit from the project and this is a breakthrough in our tourism industry because this employs neighbors and members of the community while at the same time provides a unique experience to visitors,? Jermia said.

Several investors have already egged Calawag and his partners to expand and open branches outside of Tibiao.

But Calawag said he and his partners would operate the spa only in Tibiao for the next five years so that they could help develop the tourism industry of the town and Antique.

They also want to fully develop the technology and establish protocols before expanding.

?We plan to put up the biggest fish spa resort in Asia and hopefully establish its health benefits through scientific research,? Calawag said.