diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 43af063..692c19e 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -5,15 +5,16 @@ services:
     restart: unless-stopped
     environment:
       POSTGRES_DB: trumpsignal
-      POSTGRES_USER: trumpsignal
-      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
+      POSTGRES_USER: $SERVICE_USER_POSTGRES
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: $SERVICE_PASSWORD_POSTGRES
     volumes:
       - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
     healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U trumpsignal"]
+      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U trumpsignal -d trumpsignal"]
       interval: 5s
       timeout: 5s
-      retries: 10
+      retries: 20          # up to 100s total wait
+      start_period: 20s    # don't count failures during first 20s of startup
 
   api:
     build: .
@@ -32,15 +33,12 @@ services:
       AI_MODEL: ${AI_MODEL:-claude-sonnet-4-6}
       HL_MAINNET: ${HL_MAINNET:-true}
       ENVIRONMENT: ${ENVIRONMENT:-production}
-    volumes:
-      # Persist SQLite only if you're still using it (dev fallback).
-      # In production with Postgres this volume isn't needed.
-      - api_data:/app/data
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8000/api/health"]
       interval: 15s
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 5
+      start_period: 30s
 
 volumes:
   postgres_data: