diff --git a/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix b/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix
index 23ae296e..22ebe688 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/swarm-otel.nix
@@ -77,6 +77,26 @@ in
       '';
     };
 
+    telemetryPort = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.port;
+      default = 8889;
+      description = ''
+        Port this collector serves its **own** metrics on — queue depth,
+        refused and dropped samples, exporter failures. How you find out
+        that telemetry is being lost, so it is worth keeping rather than
+        switching off.
+
+        ⚠️ **Deliberately not 8889's neighbour 8888**, which is the
+        collector's built-in default and therefore what the hive tier
+        already binds. Two collectors share a network namespace whenever
+        they are co-located, and unlike the OTLP port this one appears
+        nowhere in either config — it is a default inside the binary, so
+        nothing that compares configured ports can see the clash. The
+        second collector to start simply dies with
+        `bind: address already in use`.
+      '';
+    };
+
     url = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.str;
       default = "http://127.0.0.1:${toString cfg.port}";
@@ -185,6 +205,23 @@ in
                   // lib.optionalAttrs (otelCfg.protocol == "http/json") { encoding = "json"; };
                 };
 
+              # Moves this collector's self-metrics off the built-in
+              # default of `localhost:8888`, which the hive tier holds.
+              #
+              # ⚠️ `metrics.address` is the spelling that looks right and
+              # is REJECTED by this collector version — measured, not
+              # read: `'migration.MetricsConfigV030' has invalid keys:
+              # address`. `readers` is the schema it accepts, and the
+              # difference is a startup failure rather than a warning.
+              service.telemetry.metrics.readers = [
+                {
+                  pull.exporter.prometheus = {
+                    host = "127.0.0.1";
+                    port = cfg.telemetryPort;
+                  };
+                }
+              ];
+
               service.pipelines.metrics = {
                 receivers = [ "otlp" ];
                 # Fan-out, not a choice: with both configured the same