Red worm in my plant :O

[Shmaty]

Idk why it keeps flipping the second picture upside down for me.

I was ripping apart a plant's root media when I came across this shocking fellow. I've only found one...though there was a brown sac w/ white fluid in it. Quick lookup lead me to midge fly larvae or bloodworm. Anyone ever come across these?

[Daniel]

I get bloodworms in my mosquito larva buckets. I am always happy to see them as they are premium quality fish food.

[OceanTruth]

I’ve never found a bloodworm in my plants, but I would always welcome free food for my fish. Heck, I’d accept free food for me. Why do I never find a fresh off the grill hamburger around me? 😕 

[Gaara]

Ok, so are we in agreement the picture submitted by Schmaty is a bloodworm?  I have been searching the internet to find someone that found something like that.  I have had 5 in my shrimp/snail tank and it's creeping me.  I've never put anything in my tank to resemble that worm and just don't want parasites.  But I don't want to nuke the tank with meds if it's not like some rogue Camallanus worm somehow surviving in my cherry shrimp and pest snails.  From my pic you can see it is "big" at least compared to my shrimp.

Edited March 3, 2021 by Gaara
Clarification

[Brandy]

might be a leech? Not to freak you out worse. They are usually not harmful, just icky. 

[Gaara]

I'd even be okay with a leech.  Creatures that lifecycle through a digestive track is what is tough for me to handle. If two elite posters aren't saying parasite, I'm happy.  Thanks!

[Brandy]

@Shmaty's pic has a defined head, and it is really bright red, so I think that is a bloodworm/midge fly larvae. @Gaara's pic does not have a defined head, is paler, and I think is a small leech. I had them in one of my tanks--have not seen them in a while, but assume they might still be there. neither is an intestinal parasite--callamanus are red, but I think typically smaller and rarely (if ever) seen alive out of their host.