jpsdad, this pond absolutely had/has some kind of nutrient load that, earlier in the spring/summer manifested itself as a green film covering much of the water surface. However, that all went away from mid-summer into the fall.
Interesting thought about fatheads supporting maintenance or growth. In the case of this pond, the stocking of all species of fish (SMB, YP, BG, CC, HSB) were of all different sizes at the times of stocking. So, I can't really get growth info. as we did not tag or fin-clip any fish. My comment about not seeing the growth is more anecdotal in that the fish don't seem overly plump like we see in other ponds.
Rod, no bullheads in this pond. In my neighborhood retention pond, that I manage, it really takes the run-off from the roads more so than any of the yards. So, I have not had problems with nutrient loading in the neighborhood pond.
I know that none of these answers are definitive.
