diff --git a/crates/models/src/connector.rs b/crates/models/src/connector.rs
index 2b65758abfe..b44b6afe15c 100644
--- a/crates/models/src/connector.rs
+++ b/crates/models/src/connector.rs
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ pub const DEKAF_IMAGE_NAME_PREFIX: &str = "ghcr.io/estuary/dekaf-";
 /// Dekaf doesn't use images, but important information such as endpoint/resource config schema are associated
 /// with a particular `connector_tags` row. Rather than refactoring this deeply interconnected piece of the system,
 /// we've decided to just give Dekaf a `connector_tags` row. This is its tag.
-pub const DEKAF_IMAGE_TAG: &str = "v1";
+pub const DEKAF_IMAGE_TAG: &str = ":v1";
 
 /// Dekaf service configuration
 #[derive(Serialize, Deserialize, Clone, Debug, JsonSchema, PartialEq)]
@@ -41,10 +41,7 @@ pub struct DekafConfig {
 
 impl DekafConfig {
     pub fn image_name(&self) -> String {
-        format!(
-            "{DEKAF_IMAGE_NAME_PREFIX}{}:{DEKAF_IMAGE_TAG}",
-            self.variant
-        )
+        format!("{DEKAF_IMAGE_NAME_PREFIX}{}{DEKAF_IMAGE_TAG}", self.variant)
     }
 }