Pregnant Mickey Platty

Question
QUESTION: I have a pregnant Mickey Platy that I think has been pregnant for over one month, probably closer to two months. How long are they supposed to be pregnant?

There was another Mickey Platy and two Mollies that were pregnant and I am pretty sure that for some reason they were unable to have their babies, so they all died. Because this fish had not died and she still looks pregnant, I decided to try to do something to help her have her babies. She is now in a 1 gallon tank all by herself and has been there for 5 days. She still looks VERY fat and I have not seen any babies.

Someone said something about "squeezing" her. This does not sound very nice. Would it work? Would she die in the process?

Please help.

ANSWER: Hi Melissa,
No it would probably be a very bad idea to squeeze your fish. If your fish looks pregnant but is not having babies, there is a very good chance that she has dropsy. Dropsy is almost always fatal, but can sometimes be cured with tetracycline.
You should be able to tell whether or not she has dropsy because her fins will be sticking out around her belly. When pregnant, the belly should still be smooth and large, but not swollen and looking about to burst.
If you think it could be dropsy, try to treat her as soon as possible. Otherwise, just add some aquarium salt to her tank to reduce stress and hope she pulls through if she is pregnant.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your answer. What do you mean by her fins "sticking out"? I do not think her fins are sticking out. IF she had dropsy, how long would she live for?

Answer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_Dropsy

This is a picture of a goldfish with dropsy. Later on the scales will stick out almost to the point where it looks like a pine cone.

You can tell how live bearers (Mollies, Platies, Guppies) are pregnant if they have a black/dark circle near their rear end.

If she does have dropsy then you need to change the water conditions in the tank, because bad water quality is usually what causes it. It's not contagious, so other fish can't "catch" it, but if they live in the same poor quality of water they may also develop it.
Hopefully she is just pregnant and will eventually have her babies. If she does have dropsy, though, there is no way to tell for certain how long exactly she will live, but it won't be for very long. A week or two tops.
If you think she does have dropsy please start treatment straight away and do water testing on your tank and see what needs to be done.
Best of luck.