diff --git a/pkg/streamingpromql/limiting/memory_consumption.go b/pkg/streamingpromql/limiting/memory_consumption.go
index fc6ce516092..ad6010075dd 100644
--- a/pkg/streamingpromql/limiting/memory_consumption.go
+++ b/pkg/streamingpromql/limiting/memory_consumption.go
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ func (l *MemoryConsumptionTracker) IncreaseMemoryConsumption(b uint64) error {
 // DecreaseMemoryConsumption decreases the current memory consumption by b bytes.
 func (l *MemoryConsumptionTracker) DecreaseMemoryConsumption(b uint64) {
 	if b > l.CurrentEstimatedMemoryConsumptionBytes {
-		panic("Memory consumption tracking is negative. This indicates something has been returned to a pool more than once.")
+		panic("Estimated memory consumption of this query is negative. This indicates something has been returned to a pool more than once, which is a bug.")
 	}
 	l.CurrentEstimatedMemoryConsumptionBytes -= b
 }
diff --git a/pkg/streamingpromql/limiting/memory_consumption_test.go b/pkg/streamingpromql/limiting/memory_consumption_test.go
index f407d64d94d..17634b04767 100644
--- a/pkg/streamingpromql/limiting/memory_consumption_test.go
+++ b/pkg/streamingpromql/limiting/memory_consumption_test.go
@@ -46,13 +46,7 @@ func TestMemoryConsumptionTracker_Unlimited(t *testing.T) {
 	assertRejectedQueriesCount(t, reg, 0)
 
 	// Test reducing memory consumption to a negative panics
-	defer func() {
-		if r := recover(); r == nil {
-			t.Errorf("We did not panic on negative memory consumption")
-		}
-	}()
-
-	tracker.DecreaseMemoryConsumption(150)
+	require.Panics(t, func() { tracker.DecreaseMemoryConsumption(150) })
 }
 
 func TestMemoryConsumptionTracker_Limited(t *testing.T) {
@@ -104,13 +98,7 @@ func TestMemoryConsumptionTracker_Limited(t *testing.T) {
 	assertRejectedQueriesCount(t, reg, 1)
 
 	// Test reducing memory consumption to a negative panics
-	defer func() {
-		if r := recover(); r == nil {
-			t.Errorf("We did not panic on negative memory consumption")
-		}
-	}()
-
-	tracker.DecreaseMemoryConsumption(150)
+	require.Panics(t, func() { tracker.DecreaseMemoryConsumption(150) })
 }
 
 func assertRejectedQueriesCount(t *testing.T, reg *prometheus.Registry, expectedRejectionCount int) {