diff --git a/crates/dsx-exchange-consumer/src/metrics.rs b/crates/dsx-exchange-consumer/src/metrics.rs
index 0e803bfc40..7221496ef4 100644
--- a/crates/dsx-exchange-consumer/src/metrics.rs
+++ b/crates/dsx-exchange-consumer/src/metrics.rs
@@ -62,20 +62,15 @@ where
         .build();
 }
 
-// The four message counters are `carbide-instrument` events. Their exposed
-// names are grandfathered, and `name_unchecked` keeps them byte-identical:
-// the pre-framework counters registered names that already ended in `_total`,
-// and the OpenTelemetry Prometheus exporter appends its own `_total` to every
-// counter -- so `/metrics` has always shown a doubled `_total_total` suffix.
-// The framework strips one `_total` before registering and the exporter
-// re-appends it, reproducing the exact name every existing dashboard and alert
-// already selects on.
+// The four message counters are `carbide-instrument` events. Each declares a
+// name ending in a single `_total`: the framework strips one `_total` before
+// registering the instrument and the OpenTelemetry Prometheus exporter appends
+// its own `_total`, so `/metrics` exposes the name exactly as declared here.
 
 /// An MQTT message reached a subscription handler, before any queueing.
 #[derive(Event)]
 #[event(
-    name = "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_received_total_total",
-    name_unchecked,
+    name = "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_received_total",
     component = "nico-dsx-exchange-consumer",
     log = off,
     metric = counter,
@@ -87,8 +82,7 @@ pub struct MessageReceived;
 /// applied (or its alert cleared).
 #[derive(Event)]
 #[event(
-    name = "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_processed_total_total",
-    name_unchecked,
+    name = "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_processed_total",
     component = "nico-dsx-exchange-consumer",
     log = off,
     metric = counter,
@@ -102,8 +96,7 @@ pub struct MessageProcessed;
 /// event only moves the counter beside it.
 #[derive(Event)]
 #[event(
-    name = "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_dropped_total_total",
-    name_unchecked,
+    name = "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_dropped_total",
     component = "nico-dsx-exchange-consumer",
     log = off,
     metric = counter,
@@ -118,8 +111,7 @@ pub struct MessageDropped;
 /// event only moves the counter beside it.
 #[derive(Event)]
 #[event(
-    name = "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_dedup_skipped_total_total",
-    name_unchecked,
+    name = "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_dedup_skipped_total",
     component = "nico-dsx-exchange-consumer",
     log = off,
     metric = counter,
@@ -144,8 +136,11 @@ pub struct ConsumerMetrics {
 impl ConsumerMetrics {
     pub fn new(meter: &Meter) -> Self {
         Self {
+            // The Prometheus exporter appends `_total`, so the registered name
+            // omits it; that yields the single-`_total` exposed name, matching
+            // the framework counters above (not a doubled `_total_total`).
             alerts_detected: meter
-                .u64_counter(format!("{METRICS_PREFIX}_alerts_detected_total"))
+                .u64_counter(format!("{METRICS_PREFIX}_alerts_detected"))
                 .with_description("Number of leak alerts detected")
                 .build(),
         }
diff --git a/crates/dsx-exchange-consumer/tests/metric_exposition.rs b/crates/dsx-exchange-consumer/tests/metric_exposition.rs
index 75e5a714d8..a080b73da8 100644
--- a/crates/dsx-exchange-consumer/tests/metric_exposition.rs
+++ b/crates/dsx-exchange-consumer/tests/metric_exposition.rs
@@ -15,9 +15,10 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-//! Pins the exposed names of the four message-counter events byte-for-byte to
-//! what the pre-framework hand-rolled counters served, so the conversion never
-//! renames a metric a dashboard or alert selects on.
+//! Pins the exposed names of the four message-counter events to their single
+//! `_total` form: the framework strips the declared name's `_total` before
+//! registering and the OTel Prometheus exporter appends exactly one, so
+//! `/metrics` shows one suffix, not the historical doubled `_total_total`.
 //!
 //! One test in its own binary (its own process-global registry) keeps the
 //! `counter_delta` measurements deterministic: the crate's other unit tests
@@ -29,15 +30,15 @@ use carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer::metrics::{
 use carbide_instrument::emit;
 use carbide_instrument::testing::{MetricsCapture, capture_logs};
 
-/// Emitting each event once moves exactly its counter, under the doubled
-/// `_total_total` name the OTel Prometheus exporter has always produced for
-/// these counters (the register name already ended in `_total`, and the
-/// exporter appends another). All four events are metric-only (`log = off`):
-/// the WARN at each drop site and the TRACE at the dedup site are plain
-/// `tracing` lines the reshape left untouched, so they stay at the call sites,
-/// not on the events (the dedup line is exercised in `health_updater.rs`).
+/// Emitting each event once moves exactly its counter, under the single
+/// `_total` name the OTel Prometheus exporter produces (the framework strips
+/// the declared name's `_total`, and the exporter appends exactly one). All
+/// four events are metric-only (`log = off`): the WARN at each drop site and
+/// the TRACE at the dedup site are plain `tracing` lines the reshape left
+/// untouched, so they stay at the call sites, not on the events (the dedup
+/// line is exercised in `health_updater.rs`).
 #[test]
-fn message_events_preserve_names_and_are_metric_only() {
+fn message_events_expose_single_total_names_and_are_metric_only() {
     let metrics = MetricsCapture::start();
     let logs = capture_logs(|| {
         emit(MessageReceived);
@@ -46,12 +47,12 @@ fn message_events_preserve_names_and_are_metric_only() {
         emit(MessageDeduplicated);
     });
 
-    // Exposed names are byte-identical to the pre-conversion counters.
+    // Exposed names end in a single `_total`.
     for name in [
-        "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_received_total_total",
-        "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_processed_total_total",
-        "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_dropped_total_total",
-        "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_dedup_skipped_total_total",
+        "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_received_total",
+        "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_processed_total",
+        "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_dropped_total",
+        "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_dedup_skipped_total",
     ] {
         assert_eq!(
             metrics.counter_delta(name, &[]),
@@ -61,11 +62,19 @@ fn message_events_preserve_names_and_are_metric_only() {
         );
     }
 
-    // The single-`_total` name never appears -- that would be a rename.
-    assert_eq!(
-        metrics.counter_delta("carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_received_total", &[]),
-        0.0
-    );
+    // None of the historical doubled `_total_total` names appear -- this de-doubles them.
+    let exposition = metrics.render();
+    for doubled in [
+        "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_received_total_total",
+        "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_processed_total_total",
+        "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_messages_dropped_total_total",
+        "carbide_dsx_exchange_consumer_dedup_skipped_total_total",
+    ] {
+        assert!(
+            !exposition.contains(doubled),
+            "doubled name {doubled} must be gone; exposition was:\n{exposition}"
+        );
+    }
 
     // Metric-only: the events build no log line, so the drop WARN and dedup
     // TRACE are never doubled -- only the untouched call-site `tracing` lines