ZebraPleco.com • The complete Hypancistrus zebra resource

So I have an offer to buy wild caught Zebra Plecos. When I asked about how they got them out of Brazil, they said they came from Columbia but assured me they were L046?

I have to make a decision pretty quickly as I am sure he will find someone else to buy them soon otherwise. Could they be real? I saw a picture (to far to go to see them for real) and they look like zebras...

Zebra plecos come from only one small stretch of a single river in the world- the Xingu in Brazil. They have been been illegal to collect and remove from Brazil for a number of years. Almost all wild caught zebras now offered for sale throughout the world have been obtained in contravention of Brazilian law.

Once illegally removed from Brazil to a neighboring country they are then exported since the other countries have no prohibitions on sending the fish out.

Make no mistake, the fish you are being offered from Colombia originated in and have most likely been illegally removed from Brazil.