I'm new to growing Epis, and I would like some advice please.

First, I have a few zig zag cactus (Selenicereus anthonyanus) cuttings that I have rooted. I have read that it is best to not allow growth from the sides of the cuttings, only from below the soil. Right now ALL of the new growth is from the sides/tips of the cuttings - most are already several inches in length. So my question is: is it too late to remove them now, as in, will it set the plants back too far? Should I even bother to remove them at all? Is it good practice to remove any growth that comes from the sides/tips of cuttings on Epis in general?

As to my second question... I got a pot that had a couple of cuttings already rooted and almost all of the growth is from the above-soil parts, with the two largest growths being probably around 6-8". When I got the plant, I noticed that it looked like one of the cuttings had rotted on one side of the mid-rib maybe to a half-inch or so above the soil, but the other side seemed fine. After some good culture, those two growths seemed to reactivate (as I put it) and pretty much doubled in length. (They did not make a new growth, but the stems started growing again and it makes it kinda look like two stems fused into one). But they are on the cutting with one side rotted out and on the side OPPOSITE where the fleshy part of the stem is missing. It seems like it could put a lot of pressure on that stem from being lopsided. The cutting on the whole is in good shape and the mid-rib is very solid and seems well-anchored in the soil, and the rot is dried and inactive and was before I got it. But my question is: Should I try to raise the soil level to above the rotted out part to try to get a more solid part rooting, or could that cause more problems (e.g., more rot), or should I just leave it alone?
**In the picture, you can see that the stem in the foreground is missing the left side, which has rotted away - from the mid-rib to the right, it seems perfectly healthy. That cutting only sticks up about 4" above the soil, and although it may look like it, the stem is not bending to the right. It looks like it may have rooted at that angle.**

Thanks in advance,
-Bob