Do you need to have a spring fed pond to support a healthy fish population? or will a run off only pond stay healthy enough for fish to live?
Thanks

Run off pond can work fine if the soil and the watershed are right. Best springs are those that feed into pond from above normal water level, otherwise the flow could reverse.

Although it might help, it is definitely not required. Most of the ponds around here are not spring fed and many of them have a healthy fish population. IMO it is more dependent on pH management, population control, and a healthy food chain.

It really depends on the pond, but a pond with sufficient depth, correctly sized watershed and correct fish #s shouldn't need it.

Actually, very few ponds are spring fed.

I think it was the Missouri Pond Handbook, I read that a spring could be bad. Something to do with the cold water could hurt spawning.

mine is both spring and stream fed - there are two surface springs feeding my pond, 1 always flowing creek, 2 mostly dry creeks, and the outlet of an upper pond