diff --git a/deploy/compose.yaml b/deploy/compose.yaml
index 27031d2..6ddf7e3 100644
--- a/deploy/compose.yaml
+++ b/deploy/compose.yaml
@@ -105,14 +105,15 @@ services:
 
   # Phase 2's prober: reads the probe queue's articles over PROBE_CONNECTIONS
   # connections of its own. The account has 50: the coordinator's 38 (+ its
-  # plain one), the prober's 10, the spotter's and the spot inspector's 1 each.
+  # plain one), the prober's 9, the spotter's and the spot inspector's 1 each
+  # (with 10 the spot inspector got 502 Too many connections).
   prober:
     <<: *app
     command: ['node', 'ace', 'probe:run']
     volumes: []
     environment:
       <<: *app-env
-      PROBE_CONNECTIONS: ${PROBE_CONNECTIONS:-10}
+      PROBE_CONNECTIONS: ${PROBE_CONNECTIONS:-9}
 
   # The par2 merge: releases whose files one par2 set describes (what the prober read) become one. No NNTP.
   merger: