What should I do?

[P&BtheBetta]

I have 2 cherry barbs and I now know they are schooling fish. They live in a cycled 5 gallon though I do not think it's enough. One has a ripped fin and it hasn't been growing back and the same one appears to have bloat though I'm not sure. Should I rehome them? Would they be better off in the pet store? I just want to let them live with other fish. I'm trying to find solutions to treat the bloat, too. I don't think we'd be able to get another tank and cycle it.

The 'bloated' cherry barb looks like this: (I found this on the internet)

The image attached was showing a female with eggs but there's no males in the tank.
She's looked like that for quite a long time already.

 

[OliveFish05]

5 gallons is too small. They would be better off if you were able to take them back to your LFS where they can have a bigger group. You could get some shrimp and snails or a betta for the 5 gallon tank once the barbs are gone!

 

[P&BtheBetta]

5 gallons is too small. They would be better off if you were able to take them back to your LFS where they can have a bigger group. You could get some shrimp and snails or a betta for the 5 gallon tank once the barbs are gone!

Would Petco be okay? Also, how do I transport them?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

You can transport them in a zip loc bag; put it in a cooler to keep the temperature the stable and avoid tragic accidents. They might be better off at Petco than in a 5 gallon tank. But if you take them back, perhaps someone with a bigger tank will purchase them.

For future reference, 5 gallon tanks are really only good for bettas, shrimp, snails, and (once you gain some experience and really know what you're doing with water quality) certain microrasboras.

 

[OliveFish05]

If you are worried about a bag leaking, you could get one of those cheap styrofoam coolers