ZM will flourish in any body of water that has a suitable food supply. The populations will build and fail based on available food sources. While they would do well in some waters (eutrophic) they find limited populations in oligotrophic waters.
In a manmade pond that would without aeration winterkill the winterkill would reduce or eliminate populations depending on the severity and duration of the anoxic conditions.
Size is less of an issue than fertility. Spring ponds with clear water support limited populations.
