One Of My Cherries Died...is It A Molting Issue?

[bb1991]

So i'm no expert on cherry shrimps, and even then i understand that its a lot harder to diagnose symptoms/diseases with shrimp than fish (So kudos to you guys) , but i hope this is an easy one for the people who've kept these little buggers for a while now.
 
One of my shrimps died today with two white lines perpendicular to its back. I noticed it being right at the edge of the large shell piece in the middle of its back where it opens like a hatch when molting. (One line at each end of this piece of shell) My shrimps are almost opaque, and i thought the black coloring that some have next to their legs were diseases (i researched a bit and its because i have black gravel). But the shrimp that died i'm guessing the cause was the shell was too hard for it to molt out of. Or is it the other way around? I'm definitely sure its a molting issue, but i'm not 100% if it lacks calcium or has too much of it. The reason why i cam here is because i don't have anyway to check, my test kits have expired  (no KH or GH test, but my pH is about 7.5-7.8)
 
So what do you guys think?

 

[Baccus]

By the sounds of it the issue could have been due to a failed moult but the failed moult could also have been due to an age related issue. In other words it may have just been an elderly shrimp and the final moult was just too much for it to handle.
 
How long have you had the shrimp in the tank? if its been a few months and this is the first death, then I would suspect it is not a case of the water not being hard enough or too soft. Although if you are really worried about the minerals not being right in the tank long term for the shrimp you could look at getting shrimp dedicated substrates. From my understanding these substrates provide buffering and essential minerals to the shrimp.

 

[bb1991]

Yeah i guess it could be because of old age, the other smaller ones are doing perfectly fine with molt scraps littering the floor sometimes. I think i'll do i a few water changes this coming week and not put anymore liquid calcium (for the shrimp specifically) anymore just to be safe. I'm pretty positive a pH range of 7.8 has enough calcium in it for these little guys, since i don't have that many of them. Thanks Baccus for putting my mind at ease.