[Yellow Eye Tang]

I was just curious - I bought a couple plants that are very big and the root systems on them are enormous for the amount of substrate I've got. I've got them buried but theres a couple roots here and there that stick out. Is this going to kill off leaves or what is the best way? Should I just cut them off at the substrate level? Also my baby tears still have the stuff from the pot on the root system which may be why they are not growing. Do I need to get the rest of that off as well?